Ubi venenum, ibi evacua
by Iliya Moroumetz
Summary: 'Where there is venom, evacuate it', or so the term goes. Kelly Chambers finds the adage a bit more difficult in practice than in theory. Voted 'Most Emotionally Touching Story' on the Mass Effect Kink Meme.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure you want to do this?" the shadowed individual asked her through the video link.

Kelly Chambers nodded resolutely. She knew this was a decision not to be taken lightly and had lost a few nights sleep over it. However, if the conditions given to her were true, then this was more than merely the chance of a lifetime, this was the chance to ensure the safety of everything and everyone she held dear.

Her parents, her sister, her relatives, her friends. All of them were at risk from a threat that the Council had all but dismissed as fantasy.

Days after the conclusion of the Battle for the Citadel, she had seen through interviews, letters, extranet articles, and more of Shepard and her crew's experiences on the hunt for the rogue turian, Saren and how it seemed the seemingly unstoppable Specter was merely a puppet for something far more sinister. While Kelly had never met the Commander in person, she found herself believing what Shepard had said and her evidence, backed up by a Quarian named Tali'Zorah, pointed to that the Geth could never have built something so gargantuan.

It was not long before the Council had started a smear campaign against the very hero who had saved all of their lives. Even with the battered and broken husk of Sovereign, the Council's media spin doctors had sown doubt and criticism in the crew of the Normandy, never minding the fact that were it not for Shepard's efforts, they would all have died by now.

What angered Kelly most was when people had started invoking the infamous nickname, the Butcher of Torfan. With such a claim, they even began to doubt her sanity and the sanity of the Council for putting such a ruthless woman at the forefront of human progression. Kelly had studied and gone over Nora Shepard's psych record, which she had access to due to her degree and license, with a fine toothed comb and her actions then seemed to point at an individual capable of such actions, the fact she had ordered the fleet to save the Council threw all accusations of mental instability in their ugly faces!

Regardless, Kelly's support for Shepard went unheard and she was ready to return to her newly established practice, despondent that someone she had admired was considered nothing more than a Talk Extranet troll. An easy target for talking heads which knew nothing of the dangers that threatened them all.

That all changed when she received a request for a video communication from an address that could not be identified. While certainly not tech savvy like her father was, she was able to discover that the source of this communication was originating from the Terminus systems! What shocked her even more was when the person on the other end had informed her of the tragedy which all extranet news sources would be talking about for the next few days before the news would even reach the feed.

Commander Nora Shepard was dead.

She had even called doubt into the other individual's credibility when she said that and had cut off the call, thinking it to be a prank from some trickster. Two days later, the stranger's words had not only rung true, but had been all the news for the following few days. The funeral, the biography about Shepard and her checkered past, everything within the public sphere was disseminated and discussed, bringing new hope that the Reaper threat was a real thing and that Shepard's warnings were finally going to be taken seriously.

However, the instant the Council's press secretaries had said that her demise was the result of Geth, despite the fact that there had been neither sight nor sound of them since the Battle of the Citadel, all hope seemed lost. The only person who seemed to be aware of the danger was being tossed aside, her team scattered and discredited, and completely ignoring the threat that was not going to wait for them to react.

The unnamed individual had called once more and had given Kelly, to coin the phrase, an offer she couldn't refuse.

For all intents and purposes, Commander Nora Shepard was dead. However, her body had been recovered and was now in the possession of a group known only as Cerberus. Kelly had heard only rumors about the group. From what she could gather, they were a slightly more well funded and organized version of Terra Firma, which was just a human supremacy group whose actions rarely exceeded minor acts of vandalism on alien controlled worlds.

What caught Kelly's attention, however, was that Cerberus had vast resources. Resources which gave Kelly pause. And they were using those resources to revive Commander Shepard from the moment she had perished. Kelly was naturally doubtful of such a feat. However, the fact that the stranger had shown her evidence of Shepard's body being sound enough and what Cerberus intended to do.

As eager as she was to assist, she also had to realize that she was merely a psychologist and a xenopsychologist. The stranger had noted that while Cerberus had the expertise to restore the body, the restoration of mind and spirit were not as easily remedied. Cerberus would need her. Cerberus would contact her. They would recruit her specifically for her talents to ensure that when Shepard would return, her mental condition would be as sound as possible.

It was then Kelly realized that this individual, whoever it was, was not a member of this group. And they wanted Kelly to be a spy for them! All of a sudden, her courage vanished and she made it quite clear that she was not the kind of person that could be expected to maintain a front while working within a group that she had little to no information about.

The individual had assured her that their loopholes, techniques, and programs would enable Kelly to hide in the open. They were more familiar with Cerberus than the extremist group realized and that Kelly's safety was first and foremost, knowing that Kelly was not a combatant. It also made Kelly realize that this person also had knowledge about her.

It ultimately led her to ask this person, whoever they were, why they were doing this. She had hoped that this would give her an idea as to whom or what this person was. However, this stranger had made it clear that who they were was not important and their identity would remain secret. They did, however, promise to reveal themselves when the time was correct, should Kelly survive, she ended sarcastically in her head.

What had changed her mind, however, was the individual had given her a promise that Kelly would be protected. As a measure of good faith, the individual had said when and where Cerberus would contact her and implored her to go along with it. If she would accept their invitation, then they would contact her again and see if she had agreed to assist this person in their endeavors, since Cerberus could not be trusted, and had admitted that they were not much better.

Kelly took a long moment to consider this individual's proposal. She would be in danger, no matter what she chose. Whether being discovered by Cerberus or the far distant threat of the Reapers. She had a choice to make.

She accepted.


	2. Chapter 2

Everything occurred as Kelly's benefactor indicated. Cerberus had contacted her, making special note of her psychology expertise and her vocal support of Shepard's claims. What made them different from her benefactor was how far more subtle they were. The benefactor had also given her the questions they would use to chose her, since Cerberus was meticulous as to whom they recruited, and the answers they would accept.

The recruiter had made sure that all her efforts and dedication was to benefit humanity as a whole, despite their less than stellar reputation. She answered the man everything he wanted to hear and before long, she found herself moved from one station to another, with no contact from the benefactor at all.

Time had passed faster than she cared to admit, when a few weeks after the second year since Shepard's 'death', rumors began to circulate that another branch of Cerberus had been compromised. She, along with everyone else on Minuteman station, had no information as to what it was, since all branches of Cerberus were purposefully kept apart to as to keep their secrecy.

It wasn't long before she had received a message from the Illusive Man himself, along with a small number of others, that Shepard's emergence from the project that was meant to revive her prematurely and she, along with two other agents, were on their way to rendezvous with all of them. She and the crew of the frigate, based upon the design of the late Normandy, were to get to their stations within the hour.

At her terminal in the CIC, Kelly quickly acclimated to the new keyboard, which was designed to be her primary source of communication with command, Shepard's inbox, the other crew members, Cerberus informants, third party informants on Cerberus pay, and more information than a civilian would know what to do with.

From the corner of the screen, a small window popped up from a source that couldn't be traced.

_Shepard is there. She is now yours. _

As soon as she read the message, the window had vanished, leaving no indication that the message had even penetrated the Cerberus network. Kelly blinked after the information was processed and resumed her duties as the door behind the console she worked at opened.

Kelly turned her head to see the Commander and the agents she had been briefed on, Agent Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson. The former a recruit from the Alliance Corsair division and the latter a recruit whose achievements and credentials were far too numerous to list.

The Commander, on the other hand, held a scowl that unnerved her. Amazonian was the first thing that came to mind. She stood almost seven feet tall. A mixture, and the recipient of the best, of both her Native American and Hawaiian heritage. In addition, her jet black hair fell like a waterfall down to the small of her back. Solidly built, but lithe enough to show she was not one to trifle with. And that didn't even speak about her biotic ability.

From her files, Nora was listed as a Nemesis grade Biotic. However, most of the files that included reports of her usage of her biotics in combat were limited. That told Kelly she was decidedly conservative and knew when and where to use it. It only seemed to feed into the reports about the Butcher of Torfan's ruthless efficiency. She knew her resources. She knew her plans. She knew what she could and could not do and would use the former to their maximum. And that, to Kelly's sorrow, seemed to reinforce the negative stereotypes about Shepard's reputation.

Her cheeks were littered with glowing orange scars, which seemed to reach around her face and down her neck, leaving Kelly to wonder how far they went. From Kelly's reports, it seemed that the Commander had been up on her feet for nearly a day and a half and with no chance for a rest, it was obvious patience was running short.

Nora Shepard's eyes narrowed when she turned to Miranda, making it quite clear that she had objections to operating on a Cerberus vessel, not caring about the fact that two members from her old crew were there.

At the other side of the CIC, where the twin rows of seats ended and the galactic map began, Shepard spoke in low tones, her eyes focused directly on Miranda. Kelly wanted to hear what was going on, being naturally curious, however, their conversation was quiet enough to give the impression that no kind words were being exchanged.

To her relief, it seemed to end amicably enough as Jacob gave Shepard a salute and Miranda's acknowledgment and went their separate ways. Shepard, on the other hand, remained still; her eyes locked on the map in front of her, lost in thought.

With butterflies in her stomach, Kelly wondered if now would be a good time to introduce herself. However, there was something in Shepard's posture that seemed to make Kelly think twice before leaving her desk. When the Commander had finally collected herself, she started towards the elevator.

Now or never, Kelly told herself as she said casually, "Welcome to the Normandy, Commander."

The Commander stopped and gave her an appraising stare. Completely neutral. No evidence of like or dislike. Warning lights started to ring in Kelly's head. In her profession, nothing to work with from a first impression was never a good thing.

Despite her reservations, Kelly introduced herself with a professional, yet approachable openness that she believed would lead to the commander opening herself up to her, if her benefactor could be believed.

Once Kelly mentioned her status as a psychologist, she began to regret it as Shepard's lips thinned, her eyes narrowed, and her shoulders tensed. Kelly felt her voice die in her throat and anything else she wanted to say silenced by the glare which felt as though giant steel doors has suddenly slammed in her face and were suddenly flash frozen.

The Commander inclined her head towards Kelly tactfully, despite the icy glare from her reddened eyes, due to the implants that Kelly could make out from being this close. She could see the drying sweat, the messed jet black hair, the exhaustion in her face, however, through all that, the indications made it quite clear she had no desire to be interviewed by a shrink.

"Chambers," she said evenly. Her words and tone were cordial and tactful. Her implications were not. The discussion over, she continued to the elevator, leaving Kelly in fearful shivers.

The Yeoman had never been so scared in her life. She began to wonder if volunteering for this was all a mistake. If the Commander had no desire for her help, what was the point in continuing her duties for something that a VI could do far more easily?

She turned to the closed elevator doors, wondering if any good was going to come of this.


	3. Chapter 3

At her console, Kelly looked over the information dossier on her screen. Mordin Solus. Age; 36. Childless. Homeworld; Sur'kesh. The yeoman reminded herself that the Salarians didn't share the same concepts of marriage and family the way humans did. Retired member of the Special Tasks Group. Moved to Omega half a year ago for reasons unknown.

If she ever got the chance, she would have to ask him why he went to Omega of all places. Surely his medical expertise would have been far more useful in places where everyone carried a gun in plain sight. And that was one of the few good things about Omega.

Then, there was Archangel. Nothing could be found about his psychiatric evaluation or personal history. All they had was his past actions. Only a few months ago, he surfaced on Omega and was fouling up the operations of three of the most well known merc groups in the Terminus Systems. There even went a bounty on his head for nearly half a million credits and bounty hunters from all over the Terminus still couldn't catch him. It was no wonder Cerberus wanted to recruit him.

Finally, there was a mercenary and bounty hunter, Zaeed Massani. Age; 56. No known family. Earthborn. No doubt, the old mercenary's experience would be invaluable. However, his evaluations painted the man as crotchety, sarcastic, and prone to rambling about past pursuits. Kelly thought, with a smirk on her face, at how much he sounded like her own grandfather. The old coot could heckle anyone into next week.

Her research of the possible recruits completed, she compiled them into her omni-tool and into the data pad on her desk. Shepard would need as much information as possible.

The sound of the opening elevator turned her head to see Shepard emerge. Dressed in a uniform not dissimilar to hers, save for the evidence of the hole where the Cerberus patch was supposed to be, she walked up to the platform watching the galactic map.

Kelly turned to Shepard and said, "Commander, all the information for the recruits on Omega are here and ready for your inspection."

She held the data pad for Nora to accept, but there came that same icy glare again. Trying to keep her composure, Kelly kept her hand extended for an awkward moment before Shepard slowly took it from her hand. With the pad open, she nodded once and muttered, "Chambers." before she turned away and leaned against the railing.

Kelly held back a despondent sigh before she returned to her console. She went to the information required on the next set of recruits as she heard Shepard inform Joker to head for Omega. They were not terribly far from their destination, but they still had a few hours of travel. It would allow Kelly to get a basic understanding of where the Commander was mentally. Provided the commander allow it, however, she had to try.

"Commander." she asked.

Shepard turned to her from the data pad, "Yes, Chambers?"

Kelly swallowed quickly before continuing, "We still have a few hours before we reach Omega, and since the debriefing from Operatives Lawson and Taylor wasn't entirely comprehensive, I was hoping for a chance to give a proper evaluation and..."

"That won't be necessary," Shepard said, cutting her off.

Kelly blinked at the blunt response, "Commander, I'm here to help..."

Shepard cut her off again, this time the anger in her face and voice more apparent, "with all due respect, Yeoman; I don't need your help."

The conversation done, Shepard stalked back to the elevator and returned to her cabin. Kelly felt her stomach clench and her appetite vanish. She was no stranger to dismissive patients back on Earth, but this was just too much. The same commander she had admired and respected more or less tossed her aside without a chance to prove herself.

Kelly's training had slowly seeped into her thoughts, curious if Shepard's pre-military life was unpleasant to the point where she wanted nothing to do with it. It wouldn't have been the first time someone made sure to keep anyone that wanted to get inside their head at arm's length. She had a suspicion that the events of Torfan may have had something to do with it as well.

The analyst in her came to the conclusion that, at face value, Commander Shepard was aggressive and closed off. Probably for good reason, but it still didn't remove the sting from her glare any faster. She wanted to help, but she wasn't given the chance.

A beep from her console got her to turn back and see the same dialogue box that her benefactor had first used to speak with her.

_Be patient and tread lightly. Shepard's shell is hard for a reason. _

Just as quickly as it appeared, the chat box vanished. How did her benefactor know about this?

* * *

Zaeed and Mordin's arrival on the Normandy went along without incident, much to Kelly's relief. However, when Archangel, which turned out to be the famous, or infamous depending on whom you asked, Garrus Vakarian, things had taken a nasty turn. Kelly's only indication of what happened was overhearing Garrus yell out a warning to Shepard before hearing his strained voice over the comm.

On a stretcher, Dr. Chakwas and Mordin, along with a nurse, wheeled the critically injured and possibly dying turian into the medical bay.

"You hear me, Vakarian? Don't you dare die on me or else I'll kill you!" Shepard screamed as the large metal doors closed only inches from her face.

Aware that she wouldn't be allowed as they operated, Shepard stood just in front of the closed doors. Slowly, her head dropped and it lightly tapped against the metal as she leaned into the immobile doors. From the other end of the mess hall, Kelly and a few other members of the crew watched silently as their commander, stood still as a statue, helplessly willing the doors to open to be with her friend.

Kelly had overheard the elation in her voice when Shepard had discovered Archangel to be her old friend. Now, however, his life was hanging by a thread and their Commander seemed lethargic at the prospect of losing him.

Her courage gathered, Kelly walked to Shepard's side. From her view, Kelly could see Shepard's face scrunched up in and her eyes tightly sealed in frustration.

She's holding it in, Kelly thought, her demeanor neutral, but her heart pained. Shepard was suffering and a part of Kelly wanted to hold her close and tell her all was going to be well. Shepard's earlier conduct aside, the Yeoman hated to see people in pain, especially emotional pain, since a swab of medi-gel couldn't heal these kinds of wounds.

In a tiny voice, Shepard, whispered, "...all my fault..."

Kelly blinked once. "Commander?"

Now with Kelly's presence registered, the glare from earlier returned. The same exhausted and angry woman Kelly saw earlier had returned and Kelly got the hint to leave. However, she said as confidently as she could, "If you want, Commander, I can inform you when the operation's over."

Shepard's gaze was steady, the implants in her eyes were hard to miss due to the soft red glow, and unwavering in her distrust. However, the weariness overcame her and she nodded before turning back to the elevator.

The yeoman watched the commander shamble into the elevator and sighed when the doors closed.

"Well, it's a start," she said to no one in particular.


	4. Chapter 4

_Crack_

Shepard's fist collided with the punching bag.

_Crack_

Shepard's other fist collided with the punching bag.

_Crack_

Once more, Shepard struck the bag just as hard as before.

From the walkway above the hangar, Kelly looked on. It wasn't the fact that Shepard used the punching bag which gave Kelly pause, it was the fact she had been there ever since they left Horizon. Stripped down to a pair of cargo shorts and a tank top, Nora Shepard was covered in a sheet of sweat from repeated punches against the bag for the last two hours. Each blow, marked by a beastly grunt, with the occasional break wherein she collapsed to her knees to catch her breath, only to start the process once again.

"She's got a lot of heavy baggage in there," Kasumi Goto's voice mused beside her, which caused Kelly to squeak and hop aside, startled.

The master thief smiled morosely,"Sorry, didn't know you were preoccupied."

Kelly caught her breath and waved it off. "No worries. But you are right. Ever since Shepard has come on board, she's thrown herself into defeating the Collectors, but I worry about her."

Kasumi's smile turned mischievous, "Nothing unprofessional, one hopes."

The yeoman pouted, "No, nothing like that. I'm supposed to be the ship's counselor. I make sure everyone's mentally sound, because that can make just as much a difference as being physically fit. However, they have to come to me. I don't have the authority to order them into sessions." She paused a moment. "And even if I did, I wouldn't."

The smile the changed to astonished and impressed, "Remarkable. You're the first psychologist I've met that actually understands how people get better."

Kelly's own smile turned sad. "Well, the only person I feel that really needs my help the most won't even give me the time of day, let alone speak with me."

Kasumi put her hand on Kelly's shoulder and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "My mother, bless her heart, told me once that one moment of unbearable patience can mean ten years of peace. But then again, my mother poisoned my father every morning, promising him the antidote on his swift return home after work, to make sure he wasn't philandering, so, what do I know?"

Kelly tried not to chuckle, "Must have made home life quite interesting."

Kasumi's smile grew amused, "Like you wouldn't believe, however, that's neither here nor there."

The laughter died down and both women looked to their commander, still punching the bag.

"Shep ran into a friend from her old squad. It didn't end well." Kasumi murmured.

"How bad was it?" Kelly ventured, not sure if she should have asked.

"I think Shep broke Miss Williams' nose. I could hear the crack from across the yard."

Kelly winced at the unwanted mental image of Commander Shepard punching Ashley Williams square in the face, her visage twisted in anger.

The master thief turned back to Shepard and muttered, "If I had to make a guess, Shep's like a geyser. She has a lot of heat built up and she has to control how, where, and when she lets it out or else people she doesn't want to hurt will get hurt. That's how she seemed when she helped me."

Her tone became more dire as she continued, "Be careful, Kelly. I don't think she wants to hurt you, but if you're not careful, she will."

The asian woman vanished as her cloak activated, which left the yeoman to dwell upon her warning.

* * *

"Ms. Chambers?" a computer aided and heavily accented voiced asked Kelly as she made her way to the barracks for her break.

She turned to see both the Quarian, Tali'Zorah and Office Vakarian standing next to each other.

"Oh, Ms. Tali, Officer Vakarian. What can I do for you?" she asked, surprised that both of them had decided to see her at the same time.

The turian inclined his head to the gunnery bay, "We need to talk."

The yeoman had a sneaking suspicion that this had something to do with the commander as they lead her through the door and locked it.

"We know what you're trying to do, Ms. Chambers, but be aware that we won't tolerate Cerberus trying to use anything against her," the mechanic growled and pointed her finger at Kelly once she knew there was no one eavesdropping on them.

Kelly blinked in confusion, "What?"

Garrus placed a hand on the quarian's shoulder and answered, "What she's trying to say is that while we appreciate you wanting to help Shepard, we've known her long enough to know that Cerberus and a lot of other people often try to 'help' her, but secretly leave a lot of strings attached. We almost didn't find Saren in time because of this."

Tali shook Garrus's hand off her shoulder and said, "The Council, the Alliance, and now Cerberus. They all want the same thing; to use up Shepard and toss her aside once she's no longer of any use to them."

Kelly noted the agitation in their voices and nodded, "I know. In fact, I was rooting for Shepard when I got word she became the first human Specter." She turned to Tali, "Remember the article you wrote about the Reapers not long after the battle of the Citadel? I read that. I read the reports that both of you sent out to the various news sites before the first Normandy was attacked. Shepard was the reason why I joined Cerberus in the first place."

She made a note not to mention anything about the benefactor that had more or less guided her into Cerberus' good graces.

Garrus' mandibles flexed slowly before continuing, "Knowing full well what they did to the soldiers on Akuze and Admiral Kouhoku?"

The yeoman winced. Those, when she had learned of them, were a definite sore spot amongst Shepard's squad.

"As opposed to what the Alliance and the Council have done once Shepard learned of the Reapers?" she replied evenly.

She could see the quarian's eyes narrow, but Kelly persisted. "I'm not a soldier, nor have I ever pretended to be one. However, seeing Shepard being tossed aside, like you said, by the very people who gave her this responsibility made me realize that the incidents you mentioned or not, Cerberus is the only one that's actively working to fight and prepare for the Reapers. But make no mistake, it's because of Shepard I'm here, not Cerberus."

Both the Turian and Quarian regarded her quietly for a moment before Garrus said, "If what you say is true, then... I wish you were back on the first Normandy."

Tali turned to her companion in surprise, "Garrus..."

"She has to know," Tali turned away as her friend continued, "we knew Shepard for a long year while we were looking for Saren. And during that time, never once did she mention either her youth or Torfan."

With her arms around her torso as though she were cold, Tali added, "Every time we tried to ask her about it, she would pull away even further. It's a miracle that she still thought of us as friends after all our prying."

"Shepard always thought about others long before herself," Garrus reminisced, "we first assumed she was being thoughtful as she helped Tali with her Pilgrimage and me hunting down a psychopathic Salarian doctor. However, we both began to notice that whenever she became the subject of conversation, she'd either divert it onto someone else or avoid it altogether. She wouldn't even let us do anything for her."

Tali answered sadly, "The only person we think ever was able to see Shepard for who she really was, was Liara. But she's not the same person she was two years ago."

Kelly nodded, downcast. She had heard that Liara T'Soni, once Shepard's only confidant, was no longer the archeologist that Shepard had recruited, but a powerful information broker on Illium, consumed by a need for revenge. The details of their reunion was sparse. She recalled seeing Shepard quite sullen when she returned with Thane Krios and Samara the Justicar. Instead of angry, she seemed emotionally exhausted and went back to her room with not even a glare at the yeoman.

There was something wrong and Kelly Chambers was powerless to do anything to stop it.


	5. Chapter 5

"I knew it... I FUCKING KNEW IT!" Jack snarled, pacing around the mess hall like a caged animal. "That son of a bitch sold us out!"

The crew, like Jack, was feeling uncomfortable with the revelation that the Illusive Man had sent them all into a trap. She was simply more vocal about it.

"You have no proof he sold us out." Miranda countered evenly. Her arms crossed and an unamused frown on her face. "The Illusive Man has his reasons."

"Both of you, stop. This isn't getting us..." Shepard tried to interject, but a throbbing in her head, which had appeared on and off ever since her resurrection, kept her volume lower than she would have liked as they continued arguing.

"BULLSHIT REASONS!"

"For the short-sighted," Miranda countered, not letting up an inch, neither she nor Jack noticing their Commander trying to get a word in edge wise. "What we are fighting here, after all, is larger than you or your petty grievances."

"Listen, Cheerleader, I didn't join up with you people to get fucked over by Cerberus, again!"

"In case you haven't noticed, if the Collectors and the Reapers are not defeated, all of us are going to be as you so eloquently stated; fucked."

"Miranda, Jack, plea..."

"Fuck that! If I'm going to go down, I sure as hell not going to wait for them to..."

It was then the throbbing in Shepard's head reached an unbearable threshold. Her biotics flared up and she roared, "**ENOUGH**!" The resulting wave of kinetic energy sent not only the primary combatants, but everyone in the Mess Hall against the walls.

Everyone looked up to see Shepard breathing heavily, the blue field still remained, but before anyone could ask what brought Shepard's action, they realized something was amiss.

Hunched over and shaking, Shepard held her head as though she were fighting a violent headache. What gave them cause for alarm was seeing glowing orange scars appearing on her hands and traveling down her arms and into her uniform. When the fissures reached her face, Shepard screamed in agony once more, sans the biotic burst, and fell over.

"Commander!" Miranda yelled in shock.

"Shepard!" Garrus and Tali said in horror as they and Miranda quickly picked up their ailing commander and drug her to Dr. Chakwas' office.

With an offered hand, Samara assisted Kelly to her feet as the rest of the crew murmured to themselves as to what exactly happened. The yeoman turned to see the Justicar's pensive demeanor. Asari's gaze spoke as if this was something not unexpected. Kelly couldn't help but be curious as she asked, "Why do you think this happened?"

Samara, catching onto Kelly's train of thought, replied quietly, "Things like this do not occur overnight, Ms. Chambers. When Shepard assisted me to hunt for my quarry, something quite similar to this happened."

Kelly's eye grew wide. "What? Why didn't anyone say anything?"

Samara locked eyes with her, "Because she herself did not fully understand what happened. If you wish, I will explain another time, but not now."

Before Kelly could press the issue, the Justicar left and returned to her room.

* * *

In the med bay, Doctor Chakwas' gaze jumped repeatedly from her omni-tool to the screens at her desk. According to the readings, there was nothing that caused the sudden biotic surge which had made a mess of her mental readings and was evidently tearing her body apart.

It had been several hours since the incident and now everyone was back in their quarters, since there was no indication of when Shepard would regain consciousness.

Shepard, stripped of her uniform and now in a hospital gown, twitched continuously. Her breath came in unsteady gasps and her eyelids fluttered in a similar manner.

Aside her bed, Mordin paced back and forth, a single digit tapped against his mouth. "Biotic burst. Biotics usually require control. Lack of control? Unlikely. Argument of Operative and Jack? Probable."

The doctor shook her head and turned to the salarian, "Yes, but this isn't the first time they've come to blows like this. We've all gotten so used to their bickering that it shouldn't have bothered her."

"Mental degradation due to Lazarus Project operation? Unknown. Shepard mental stability unknown before resurrection."

As both doctors continued their analysis of their commander's condition, they failed to notice her movements beginning to show consistence as she slowly got off the cot. Shepard, though upright, still twitched with closed eyes as the scars on her face began to glow an even brighter hue of orange. She staggered on one foot to another as Chakwas realized the the bed was empty.

"Commander! What are you doing? You need to lie down!"

Both doctors moved to restrain their commander before another biotic wave pushed them back and off their feet as though they were gently shoved to the ground. This time, the biotic field did not dissipate, however it reflected Shepard's manner; staggered and unstable.

Nora whipped her head to them, her eyes still closed, and snarled in an otherworldly voice, "**DO NOT TOUCH ME!**"

Both doctors stared in shock as their commander shambled out and to the elevator. Mordin looked to Chakwas, aware of what needed to be done as he stood up and went to head to Miranda's office across the way. They guessed Lawson would still be there.

Once on her feet, Dr. Chakwas looked back to the mess in the lab and amid the cleaning, she turned to the readings on the cot where Shepard slept. Unsure if what she saw was correct or not, she tapped several keys on the console beside it. She had seen these readings before, but where?

As the door opened to reveal a flustered Miranda Lawson, she had a most unpleasant epiphany as to what happened. Before she could speak her fears, she was interrupted by Miranda.

"What happened? Where did Shepard go?" the operative almost shouted.

"Not sure," Chakwas replied calmly.

"EDI, do you know where the Commander is?"

The holographic display by the door flared to life as EDI responded, "Commander Shepard is currently in her quarters. She has locked herself in and has inexplicably disabled all overrides, scanning, and all communication. I cannot see or hear her and she placed locks on all aforementioned systems that not even I can crack."

Miranda turned to Chakwas in surprise, "Since when could Shepard outhack an AI?"

It was then the medic decided to lower the boom. "I may have an idea what happened." She brought Miranda to the panel she had noticed only a moment before.

The scan of Shepard's head was alight with various whips of additional activity.

Miranda frowned, "Wait a minute, brains don't usually carry this much activity unless something is interfering."

Chakwas shook her head, "Not something, Operative. Someone."


	6. Chapter 6

Kelly stood outside the door to Shepard's room. She could not stop the shiver. Not just because of the lack of a heat source, but the sheer terror of what she had heard Dr. Chakwas and Miranda say the day before.

There was also that single line on her console, coming from the Commander's station in her room, in the CIC which almost made Kelly's heart stop.

_Report to our quarters at once!_

'Our quarters'? Many suspicions floated through Kelly's head as she reached up to tap the door. However, before her hand could touch the cold metal, the door opened, even though the hologram above the lock was inoperative.

Except for the blue glow of the empty fish tank and the light from the stars by the window, everything was covered in a blanket of darkness.

A voice, altered by... something, said ominously, "...**enter**."

Kelly gathered what little courage she possessed and walked in. The instant she stepped past the threshold of the cabin, the doors slammed shut.

"C... Commander?"

From the other end of the cabin, a sickly orange hue glowed from where Shepard's bed sat. Kelly's eyes focused to see the Commander, clad only in a hospital gown, completely covered in glowing scars. Shepard's eyes opened and they contained an unearthly green glow. Kelly gasped in horror at the sight.

"**Kelly Chambers**," the commander said calmly before she stood up, "**I need your expertise. Shepard is broken. She must be restored.**"

"But wait," Kelly said,"How can you say that if you're... oh no." The yeoman could only think of one possible explanation. The Commander had a separate personality. Commander Shepard was a schizophrenic! How could they have missed this? They took every bit of information on her since the day she entered the Alliance Reserves.

"**Do not even pretend to think you understand anything, Kelly Chambers**," the scowl on the Commander's face was different than the one Nora first showed her. The former was condescending and arrogant. The latter was hard and untrusting. The manner of speech. The way Shepard now stood.

It was as if she was someone completely different.

Kelly ventured a question. "What do you mean?"

Shepard's scowl grew. "**I'm no mere product of your precious Shepard's mental dysfunction. She is broken enough as it is. No, I'm the culmination of an entire civilization which you revere. I am their legacy. I am also all that is keeping Shepard's body from falling apart.**"

Kelly's mind searched for any possible explanation until one possibility remained. "The beacon on Eden Prime... you're... Prothean?"

The one using Shepard's body gave Kelly a cruel smile, "**Perhaps there is hope for you yet. Since I prefer not to be referred by this broken woman's name, you may as well refer to me as Echo, since it's the closest approximation of what I am.**"

Aware that certain questions could make or break the next few minutes, Kelly asked, "Then what are you?"

Echo's frown grew as though she were insulted with such a question, "**If I were to degrade myself in terms for something as simple as you to understand, the closest thing would be akin to your EDI.**"

Echo inclined her head to side, which Kelly assumed was an order to sit down. The yeoman complied, her own gaze steady with Echo's.

"**Now that your curiosity is sated, we must begin. Once Shepard's mind is returned to a sound state, the body will follow. The head of the Lazarus Project was too sure of herself to realize that all the technology is the galaxy means nothing if the mind and spirit of the user is not in working order.**"

Kelly's gaze turned to the side, searching for a question that she had prepared long before she came aboard the Normandy.

"So, you're saying that Shepard still has some trauma associated with her death?"

"**While that is not the only thing, you are correct. She wonders if she is even Shepard anymore. She wonders if she is any different than the husks the Reapers construct out of the remnants of your people.**"

Kelly balked at the notion. "What? How can she believe that? She's still alive."

Echo narrowed her eyes, "**Have you ever perished and returned from the dead before, Kelly Chambers?**"

"Well, no, but..."

"**THEN BE SILENT! In case you have not noticed, she has been less than cordial with those around her. She has had little time to come to terms with the fact that her life has been restored by mortal means and now she is once again pressed into service by an organization she hates. This cannot continue as it is. You, Kelly Chambers, must restore her sanity or else all is lost.**"

Something did not add up, "wait, if that's the case, why are you so intent on ensuring Shepard's survival? It's not like you have any stake in this."

Echo responded quickly, "**That is no concern of yours. All that you need to know is that Shepard will be waking up soon. By all means, tell her about me. It will bring a bit of amusement to this poorly written tragedy.**"

Kelly was about to ask again when Echo twitched noticeably and muttered, "**We will speak again, Kelly Chambers.**" It grew to an all out shiver before she tumbled backward onto the bed. Only the sound of Shepard's breathing could be heard in the room as Kelly cautiously moved over to the bed. Not long after, the lights began to return and the doorway was no longer locked.

"Commander?" she asked quietly, tapping Nora's knee.

"Commander?" she asked again.

This time, Shepard's eyes, this time discolored red by the implants, fluttered open. Her right hand reached up to fight back the painful throbbing in her head as she slowly sat up. Nora blinked twice at the presence of the yeoman in her room.

She looked around wildly, before turning to Kelly and asked in a near panic, "Chambers... what... how did you get in here? How did I get in here? What happened?"

Kelly kept her hands clenched when she realized just how bad things had progressed. "If I tell you, will you believe me?"

Nora looked into Kelly's eyes for a long moment. Kelly knew Shepard did not have much reason to trust her, however, current circumstances were... unique.

The Commander nodded as Kelly took a seat on the couch.

With as much detail as she could recall, Kelly recited everything Echo had told her.

Shepard, her mouth agape, stared back at Kelly in shock for a whole minute.

The commander then looked down to the floor, her mind reeled at what she had just been told.

Kelly knew it was her time to go. She turned around and padded towards the door.

"Chambers..." Shepard said quietly, but loud enough for Kelly to hear.

The yeoman turned around to see her Commander look to her, this time without the hardened expression. "Do... do you think you have time for a session? I think I need one."

Kelly gave her the most reassuring smile she could and said, "Of course, Commander." She was about to open the door, when she turned back to Nora and stated, "And please, call me Kelly."

The commander gave her a nod, "Thank you, Kelly."


	7. Chapter 7

Kelly stood beside the door to the hallway as Shepard completed her plans for the next few weeks. While it had been difficult to convince Miranda for Nora to step down temporarily for sick leave, they assuaged her fears by the plan to accumulate the needed materials to upgrade the Normandy. Every member of the recruits had plans, contacts, and schematics they could be used to give the frigate additional protection, armaments, and countermeasures the next time they would meet the Collectors.

"While I agree with the plan, Shepard, I still have my doubts," the Cerberus agent noted. Not just with the acquisition of the materials, but the idea that Kelly would be their only chance at helping Shepard's problems when they already had an asari justicar on board.

Nora nodded and asked, "I know, but I am putting my trust in you, because at the moment... I don't want to risk this ship and crew anymore than I have to, just because I got some mental problems at the moment. And besides, you'll have Garrus at your side, you'll be fine," she ended with a cheeky grin.

Miranda's lips thinned and her eyebrows lowered, "That's what I'm afraid of." She start a reading off the pad Shepard had given her and started walking back to her office before turning to Garrus and requesting his presence within the hour. He nodded his assent and turned to Shepard with Tali right behind him.

From Kelly's viewpoint, as the rest of the crew filtered out, she was unable to hear the conversation between the Commander, the Quarian, and the Turian. However, she could see several indications that the mechanic was worried sick about Shepard to the point where she embraced Nora and muttered something about assistance. Vakarian placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder, said something, to which Nora nodded, and left the conference room.

"Take good care of her," Garrus said as he passed by the counselor.

She nodded. "I will."

While the glowing scars had yet to fade, Shepard's demeanor had improved dramatically. Kelly had noted, even though Shepard still did not trust Cerberus in the least, she had gained Jacob's and Miranda's loyalty not long before, which had made this transition a lot smoother.

"You ready?" Shepard asked Kelly once the rest of the crew had vacated the room.

"Yes, Commander," she replied professionally.

* * *

As enthusiastic as Shepard was to start sessions with Kelly, the yeoman could not help but notice how awkward the Commander seemed as she paced the room, unsure where to begin.

For ten minutes, they had experienced a series of failed starts and verbal stumbles. The long and awkward pauses got to them both.

"Don't worry." Kelly said to ease Nora's discomfort, "there's no real established method at where to begin."

"You sure? I'm always used to standard operating procedure. I've never been good at doing something new," Nora said despondently.

"The reason why is because everyone is different. Your problems are unique to you. It makes you human," Kelly offered with an encouraging smile.

Tired of pacing, Nora then took another seat at the opposing edge of the couch, which sat right below her desk.

"I know I asked this earlier, but why not start at the beginning?" Kelly offered, "I promised you that this was confidential and no one, I repeat no one, is going to hear this."

Nora scuffed her shoulder length dark red hair in frustration, "I know! I know... it's not you I'm worried about." She paused for a moment and continued, "it's the Illusive Man. And not just him. I can't help but feel that both the Alliance and the Council are keeping tabs on me, somehow."

Kelly tipped her head. "What makes you feel that?"

Nora's head drooped, "Horizon. Ash is Alliance all the way and it wouldn't surprise me at all to find she's working for both. Just like I did. Makes me scared that they'll screw her the way they did me. They put me up on a pedestal and look how well it worked out?"

The counselor was confused. "You saved us all? True, the council never believed you, despite all evidence to the contrary, but there are people that still believe you. You still have people that trust you."

Nora snorted cynically as she glared at the other end of the room, "Yeah, but the malcontents and the misfits are not going to save the galaxy when you're the only ones that know the dangers are coming first hand."

Kelly closed her eyes for a moment, gathered her thoughts and said, "For what it's worth, Commander. I believe you. I always believed you. You've beaten the odds before and believe you'll do it again."

The hardness of Nora's eyes broke as she turned to the yeoman. "Even after how horribly I treated you?"

The younger woman nodded and answered, "It's part of the job. You'll often meet people that are hard, confrontational, bellicose, and more. And their reasons are valid to a degree. However, more often than not, people that seek help on their own have a better chance at recovery. They're proactive instead of reactive. That's always good sign."

There was a pregnant pause in the room as Commander Shepard considered her words. From what Kelly could deduce, Shepard could have been repeatedly praised for her skills as a soldier. However, commentary about her as a person seemed far more sparse.

Nora shrugged, "If it can help deal with Echo, then I'm all for it. I doubt a scalpel will fix this, since my brain has progressively become more prothean than human in the past few years."

Kelly giggled, "I wouldn't worry too much. We'll get through this and then you can become the same Commander Shepard that saved us all a few years ago once more."

Nora joined her laughter for a moment before an epiphany stopped the chuckle.

"I think I know where to start now."

Kelly's face lit up with relief, "Wonderful."

With a sigh, Shepard stood up and walked to the window on the other side of the cabin. She placed her hand against the glass and began,

"What I am about to say, I have not told anyone. It shows how much trust I'm putting in you, Kelly."

Aware of the gravity of the situation, Kelly placed her data pad on her side and leaned forward to listen intently as Shepard turned back to her.

The Commander seemed scared as she stated in a low voice, "I'm not Nora Shepard. The real Nora Shepard died fifteen years ago."


	8. Chapter 8

Kelly's mouth hung open in shock. Which caused 'Nora' to smirk as she continued, "Surprised? My real name is Ann. Never found out my family name. Didn't care to find out, either. Just a source of bad memories and disappointments."

The yeoman struggled to regain her composure as she asked, "Who... who was the real Nora Shepard then? What happened to her?"

The smile vanished from Nora's face as she answered sadly. "Nora Shepard was the only friend I ever had, growing up in the slums of Old Los Angeles. She was like me; a sand dropping: kids born from crack whores, addicted to Red Sand." She took a deep breath before she continued, "Unlike me, she was disfigured and crippled when she was born. Almost didn't make it. Never could figure out how I made it to term perfectly healthy while she ended up looking like... the way she did. Either her mom was beaten or, I'm guessing, she had Proteus Syndrome. Either way, she wasn't going to last long and both of us knew it. "

Kelly hung on every word the older woman spoke as she tried to fight back the imagery of the individuals they were and the hardships they no doubt faced.

"Nora... she... you couldn't find a nicer girl in the whole damn galaxy. She couldn't feel malice or hate against anyone, even against the Reds."

"_Don't you dare!" Ann snarled, her teeth bared, ready to bite if needed as Finch and Crumb closed in, being the only thing standing between them and Nora with a stash of food left over from an annexed section the Reds had taken over from the Twelfth Street Blues after a turf war._

"_Piss off, Ann!" Finch, despite being smaller and a year younger than the fourteen year old Ann, threatened as he and his toadie closed in._

"_If you want to wake up wondering where your balls went, Finch, you'll clear out! We found this first!" Ann growled, brandishing a broken pipe. She would have swung the bar at Finch's head had a bloated hand not gently grasped her elbow. _

_Ann kept her gaze on their assailants, but switched it to Nora, who limped forward with an armful of the food they had found, much to the confusion of all involved._

"_Here," Nora said in a hoarse voice and placed a bag of unspoiled bread and candy in Finch's hand. Nora tried to smile, but the various tumors that encompassed most of her head, covered by a hood, made it difficult. Regardless, she nodded and walked back behind Ann._

_Finch and Crumb looked between the bag and to Nora before the former mumbled, "You got lucky this time, Ann." With that, they left. _

_Ann wasn't sure whether she was merely hungry, frustrated, or angry, but she was ready to scream at Nora for what she did. However, Nora had interrupted her and said gently, "They were hungry, like we were. There's more than enough." Once again, Nora Shepard, had lived up to her name. She had diffused the justified anger between two parties and had enabled both of them to avert a potentially violent scuffle. _

"_I'm sorry, Nora," Ann mumbled, ashamed as the iron pipe slipped from her grasp to land unceremoniously on the floor. _

_There was no reproach as the disfigured girl wrapped her only good arm around Ann's shoulders warmly. _

"She sounded very kind," Kelly said as she fought back the tears that clouded the corners of her eyes.

The older woman nodded as she too fought back the anguish in her eyes. "She was everything I wanted to be in a person. She always saw the big picture and wanted to make sure that things would work out in the long term. She was smart. Made me realize that I had to be smart too, if I wanted to survive. She kept me alive all those years."

They both knew the inevitable question that would come next. "What happened to her?"

She closed her eyes and held a hand to her face. "In OLA, there was a small church that saddled several of the gang turfs at one time. The church was practically the only truly neutral place in the city as far as the gangs were concerned, since the workers there didn't discriminate." Shepard's face grew heated as she snarled, "Then some nameless asshole comes along and burns it down for kicks! Nora... Nora was there at the time."

The yeoman closed her eyes and allowed the Commander a moment to collect herself. For all she knew, they just scratched the surface. Kasumi's warning came back as she figured it would be best to let this subject go for now.

"How'd you escape from the Reds?"

Shepard took another breath, aware that they had to continue, "Well, once the church got torched, the Reds blamed the Fourteenth Street Bones for it. It was a stupid move, since you need nothing less than Riot Cops to deal with those guys. It turned out to be a mistake, since the resulting turf war made the top Reds realize they needed to expand in other ways if they wanted to survive."

She shrugged and said, "So, they wanted to use me as a honey trap to blackmail an up and coming senator so they could get the resources they needed to take down the Bones."

Kelly blinked, "Wow, really?"

'Shepard' chuckled bitterly, "Yeah. I think one of the heads of the gang saw it some movie. Must have been one of those pre-holo vid black and white ones. Because it was a stupid plan from the start."

"I assume it didn't go well?"

Nora shook her head and snickered darkly, "Me and two other guys were going to set it all up. Too bad they didn't think I'd gotten tired of their stupid gang wars and would use that chance to get out. And as luck would have it, the Reds that were supposed to keep me in line ended up dying in a car crash. I would have died too had my biotics not manifested. So, I took their credit chits, bribed the cops to say I died, hitch hiked up to Alaska and once I turned eighteen... well, you can figure out the rest."

The yeoman nodded and said, "You used Nora's name to register yourself in the Alliance military. Since you had no birth certificate or holo print, they couldn't verify that were not Nora Shepard."

Nora sniffed once and leaned against the head of her couch. "Yeah. Turns out that while you can only fake your way through so many of their assessment tests, being a biotic gives you certain advantages."

The smirk on the older woman's face faded as she finished, "I wanted to honor Nora. Be the person she never got a chance to be. Granted, I haven't always succeeded. I still lose my temper every once in a while."

Kelly gave her an encouraging smile, "I'd say averting a galaxy wide genocide counts for something."

Nora laughed. "If it stopped them dead in their tracks, then I'd feel better about myself." Her smile faded as she shook her head, "The Reapers are still out there. The Council and Alliance still don't believe me. No one's getting ready for the invasion and we're chasing the Collectors."

Kelly looked to her omni-tool's time display, noting that time had gone faster than she realized.

"Time's up?" Nora asked, the exhaustion in her eyes evident.

The yeoman shook her head, "We can keep going if you'd like. Otherwise, we can stop here for today. I got a feeling that this may take a while, so, I believe it'd be best if we took it slow. Give yourself a chance to rest."

Nora contemplated Kelly's offer for a moment before she nodded. "Probably would be a good idea if we continued tomorrow. I'll keep in touch with Miranda and Garrus to make sure the material acquisition goes on as scheduled."

Kelly stood up slow and offered, "I can get the reports from them if you'd like?"

The commander nodded once. With their time done, Kelly walked up the steps to the door before Nora said, "Kelly?"

"Yes, Commander?"

Shepard's mouth was open, with the desire to say something in particular. However, she changed her mind and said, "See you at breakfast tomorrow."

The counselor's smile returned as the door opened. "Yes, Commander."

Back at her console, Kelly filled out her reports and kept the details of her sessions with Nora private. Despite the pride she felt at her recommendation by the Illusive Man, their recent escapade with the 'disabled' Collector vessel had brought doubts into her mind as to whether or not he would respect the privacy of Shepard's condition.

_How is Shepard?_

The chatbox appeared at the upper left corner of her screen again. Her benefactor had contacted her at intermittent intervals, possibly to ensure that their system was not compromised.

Time was short, so, Kelly kept her response to the point, which would keep the confidence Shepard put in her.

_Kellygirl: She's not healed, but she's getting there.*_

There was a slight pause before her benefactor answered.

_Good. Please be diligent._

* * *

*Reference to a highly recommended Story starring Kelly as a real psychologist; Confessions by Timberley. Go read and review it, I command you!


	9. Chapter 9

"This isn't the best of time for you to come out, Echo," Kelly admonished the woman in front of her.

As the rest of the Normandy's squad was out, the Prothean had summoned Kelly to Shepard's room. At the moment, Shepard was supposed to be asleep, however, Echo had other ideas.

"**That is not for you to decide, Kelly Chambers**," the woman who took Shepard's body in thrall, said, "**I have observed your progress, or lack thereof, and I have to say how displeased I am with you.**"

Now it was Kelly's turn to frown, "I'm sorry, but the human mind is a far more delicate thing than you realize. You can't just expect some instant treatment to suddenly change behavior ingrained in someone's mind after years of first hand experience." The Prothean had shown to be impatient and condescending, which did little to improve Kelly's opinion of her.

Echo scoffed, "**Of course. You humans and your insistence to coddle will keep you from reaching the same greatness the Protean Empire did.**"

Kelly anger reached a threshold as she noted curtly, "And look what happened. The last of your people; twisted and mutated to become nothing more than slaves to the Reapers."

The yeoman stood her ground as Echo ignited Shepard's biotics, as though she were to use them to harm Kelly. However, the Prothean, her eyes still locked in anger with Kelly's, sat down on Shepard's bed and muttered, "**Perhaps you're not as spineless as I thought you were. However, it's a good thing that my people are dead, or else your race would have been wiped off the face of the galaxy long ago.**"

Kelly's gaze was broken as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Echo's scowl returned in force, "**How do you think the Prothean Empire was able to grow the way it did? By the Mass Relays and the Citadel alone? You naive, simpleton! We took over the entire mass relay system and ground anything that would offer a hint of resistance into dust!**"

The yeoman's face turned from anger to disgust as Echo continued to rave, "**I've seen the people of this cycle argue and discuss about how the once great Prothean Empire had vanished, but never once did they ever think to how we came to prominence. How else are empires established? On the bodies of democracies, republics, and more! Imagine the relentless slaughter of every lesser species that dared to tread upon the galaxy the Prothean Empire claimed as their own!**"

The redhead kept her anger in check as Echo could feel her discomfort and smirked, "**Disappointed? It's the way things are, little one. The strong crushes and consumes the weak. And the Protheans were strong, thanks to the technology we gained.**" The smile vanished and she leaned against the coach and looked to the side in reminiscence. "**To think we were once a very spiritual people.**"

The Prothean stood up and walked to the wall. "**All life is governed by The Law. All civilization is sustained by the letter of The Law. All joy is found in the spirit of The Law. All truth is at the heart of The Law. And only by the spirit of The Law, can we abide by the heart and letter of The Law.**"

Kelly was no longer angry, but confused as Echo turned to her, the belligerence gone and replaced with sorrow as she took a glass filled with water and drank from it. "**That was the wisdom the gods granted unto the Protheans before they reached the stars. It saved a race, ready to die by its own hand. It was a blessing which brought untold prosperity to our people.**"

Slowly, the anger returned to Echo's face as her grip on the glass tightened, "**Then, we discovered the Mass Relays...**"

Kelly could guess where this conversation headed. "The Protheans forgot their gods, I take it?"

Cracks started to appear on the glass in Echo's grip as the Prothean nodded. "**Yes. At first, the advances we discovered from their technology catapulted our own ahead nearly a millennium. Then the Citadel came along and soon, our leaders became convinced that the gods favored us to the point where we spread throughout all the galaxy. They wished to spread 'The Law' to the lawless sectors of the galaxy and they did, in rivers overflowing with the blood of lesser species.**"

In spite of Echo's anger, she noticed the glass about to break and placed it on the table. "**When the spiritual leaders cried for forbearance, our leaders' lust for power and dominion had overtaken them and every image and aspect of the The Law was removed. It did not take long for us to completely forget our origins and the gods which spared us from our own foolishness. We became decadent and degenerate. Our arrogance knew no bounds as we spread like a gluttonous cancer across the galaxy.**"

"Then the Reapers came."

The Prothean nodded, "**Then, the Reapers came. We had been played for fools. As the slaughter of our people continued, we cursed the gods and wished to die as our empire crumbled about us. Perhaps it was the last thing they could grant us, as our day of grace had long since passed.**"

While Kelly was no active subscriber to any particular belief, she had seen faith assist in the recovery of a few of her patients and was certainly not one to disparage anyone in it.

"So, what was the point of placing yourself in the beacon?" Kelly asked.

Echo slammed her fist on the table, "**Revenge! Whatever your precious Shepard was informed of by Vigil on Ilos is only part of the truth. We held no moral imperative to save you petulant children, as you go about throwing fits as to whom has the most money, political influence, or largest military. Your annihilation draws closer and those in power would toss aside the warnings of the only ones that know, simply because she exterminated a nest of festering insects!**"

It didn't take Kelly long to understand what Echo referred to.

"Torfan," she whispered in understanding.

_The order from command had come in. The very same raiders that had attacked Mindoir all those years ago had been repulsed at Elysium two years prior by some unknown lieutenant. Now, they called in Shepard and her group to finish them off._

_All her men had known what they faced, however, they felt more apprehension after they had seen Shepard with a particular look in her eye. Every piece of information on Torfan was downloaded to her console and she had become obsessive to ensure that everything was current. _

_The rumors began to circulate. All they heard was that she was from Alaska. Her biotics, while not as refined as those in the Ascension program, were strong enough to take anyone in a fist fight. The level of obsession she showed to think ahead made her more fearful, since no one could ever figure out where they fit into her plans. _

_Despite their survival, Shepard's skill in planning had given her a notoriety. She had brought success, but often at a cost. _

_And Torfan was the heaviest cost they ever paid. _

_For every batarian raider that fell, one more of her squad had fallen in turn. However, Shepard had smelled blood. Gone was the tactician, here was the Butcher and her cleaver was hungry. In her mind's eye, she saw the Batarians as the various junkies, molesters, rapists, and other merciless deviants from OLA as one in the same. She hated them for preying on people like herself and Nora.__ She would kill every one of them in reach and no one would question it.  
_

_ In front of her men, she had shot a soldier in the leg who had attempted to desert. _

_Aware of the construction of the buildings the raiders used, she had snuck behind their lines and had left a bloody stain of a batarian's head from a point blank shot from a hand cannon._

_The air was full of the ozone as both sides continued to expend what little ammunition they had left. The Batarians were still entrenched and their chance to complete the mission grew slimmer. To Shepard's good fortune, she had found a tank full of neurotoxin the raiders had made use of during their runs and had fed it through the ventilation shafts, effectively flushing the remaining raiders out of their base. Those left behind had drowned in their own juices._

_They begged for mercy._

_They pleaded for their lives._

_When Shepard turned to the remainder of her men, she roared like a woman obsessed, "Fire!"_

_The slaughter was quick and vicious.  
_

"_Mission complete..." she muttered and spat out some blood that had seeped into her mouth from the blood that had splashed on her face. _

_She ordered her men to return to the surface to radio their transport out. She stayed behind because she still saw one batarian still alive. The raider struggled to keep his throat open to get some much needed air as Shepard walked up to him._

_Shepard, amid deep breaths, locked eyes with the batarian. The raider tried and failed to spit out something, anything at her. _

_His last attempt at defiance caused a smile to creep across Shepard's face as a deep cackle emerged from her throat. _

_She quickly pulled out her pistol and shot him in the limbs. She knew he didn't have the strength to scream. She was going to relish this. Just like back in Old Los Angeles._

_Her omni-tool flashed on and acquired a reading of the batarian's heart rate. _

_The indication showed his heart beat go slower..._

_...and slower..._

_...and slower..._

…_and stop. _

_For good measure, she raised her pistol again and shot him in the head. _

_Shepard then quivered violently and moaned a deep, sensual exhale. Her rage was exhausted. Another predator dead. _

_The Butcher of Torfan was satisfied. _

Echo smirked, "**It's always disappointing to learn how flawed your heroes can be.**"


	10. Chapter 10

Kelly entered the observation deck with due deference to the Justicar within. However, the asari within acknowledged her entry, despite the silence Kelly used to enter.

"How is Shepard?" Samara asked in her usual stoic voice.

"She is getting better, but it's a slow process," Kelly said evenly.

"That is good to hear."

"Now, what was it you said about this event that's happened before with Nora?"

The soft blue light dimmed from around the Justicar as she stood up and walked to the window.

"Not long before this event occurred, I requested Shepard to assist me in hunting a criminal from asari space. A hedonistic murderer that feels nothing for the suffering she caused. Do you know what an Ardat-Yakshi is?" the asari said as she turned to Kelly.

Kelly tilted her head and said, "Only in rumor. But is it like the succubus from the legends from our homeworld?"

Samara nodded. "I have heard of such human legends and it is an appropriate simile. It hunts particular types of people and uses her charm to lull them into her trap and kills them. I requested Shepard to assist me in hunting one such individual. However, it was amid our conversation did I realize that Shepard had taken a vested interest in this hunt of mine."

Kelly blinked, "How so?"

"Old wounds are opened when familiar territory is tread. I almost missed it, but I could see an anger, a rage she has always kept hidden when I mentioned how my target hunted. However, I was confident in Shepard to retain the professionalism that would help draw her out."

"Did you succeed?"

Samara nodded. "From the shadows, I watched her work through the crowds and show the disciplined strength that the Ardat-Yakshi was drawn to. From the club I followed them to her apartment and would hopefully rescue Shepard in time and destroy my target."

"But it didn't happen that way, did it?"

The justicar shook her head. "No. It did not."

_On Morinth's lap, Nora traced her fingers beneath the fronds of the asari's head. Shepard's mouth latched on Morinth's, the lingered taste of the sweet drinks on her tongue. In her lust clouded mind, Shepard knew the danger she courted. She hoped Samara would show up soon, since she knew when the worst was going to happen. With Morinth's head cradled in her hands, she pulled back from Morinth's kiss and whispered, "Feels good, doesn't it?"_

"_Always," Morinth hissed, her arms wrapped around Nora's torso. "Would you do anything for me?"_

"_Anything," Shepard said as she claimed Morinth's mouth again. This time, the survival instinct cleared away the passion and the adrenaline began to flow, ready to spring the trap. _

_Morinth, then switched their positions so that the asari now leaned over Shepard. The ardat-yakshi, between breaths, moaned, "Tell me you'd die for me..."_

_Shepard noticed that Morinth's mouth had not moved. The asari's eyes had also become the unsettling dark that she had seen in Liara and Shiala. However, when she felt Morinth's attempting to gain access to all that Shepard was, she closed herself off._

"_No."_

_Immediately, the meld was broken and the asari quickly put the pieces together and realized she had been played for a fool. _

_The door burst open and in walked Samara._

_Unkind words were exchanged between parent and child. _

_Their power came to a stalemate._

_Both appealed to Shepard and she had made her choice._

_The images of Diana, her face streaked with tears at the loss of her only source of joy, caused a scowl of unbridled anger and hate in Shepard's face as she knocked the Ardat-Yakshi off balance._

_As the justicar closed in, Morinth had proved her resourcefulness once more. A canister of Minagen-X3 was right beneath the couch. She had hurled it towards her assailants and with what little biotic strength she had left, crushed it, causing the container to explode._

_Minagen-X3, a far more potent and simultaneously lethal version of Red Sand, spread through the room and into Shepard's lungs. After the first cough, Samara could feel the eezo nodes in Shepard's body expand with untapped and unstable power. _

_Like a star that went nova, the biotics around Shepard threw everything into disarray. Hunched over, Shepard roared as near uncontrollable energy coursed through her body. Her eyes blared an unearthly green as Morinth attempted to escape in the chaos, however, Shepard would have none of it. _

_The ardat-yakshi struggled as a far more powerful biotic field picked her up and left her suspended as Shepard, in a burst of light, vanished from her position, to reappear right behind Morinth, grab her leg and threw her with incredible force against the opposing wall. The breath knocked out of her, the younger asari could do nothing as Shepard once more appeared right in front of her from a burst of biotic light._

"_**YOUR LIFE IS MINE!**" Shepard bellowed as her hands, alight with the same glow as her eyes, latched onto Morinth's neck and in a maelstrom of element zero powered light, Samara could see Morinth begin to whither._

"_Reave..." Samara uttered beneath her breath as she stood up, despite the chaos around her and the cries of agony from both Shepard and Morinth. Reave; a highly dangerous and unpredictable biotic ability which could steal the life force from a target to the caster. Few biotics knew of it, fewer were able to use it, and still even fewer could ever master it as it could kill the caster as easily as it could extend one's life. _

_When it seemed the ardat-yakshi was about to turn into dust, another biotic explosion sent Shepard through the air and against the window, where it left a second noticeable crack in the glass._

_Samara stood up and walked to her daughter. Morinth, devoid of strength and almost completely devoid of life, looked to her parent and whispered as tears began to stream from her eyes, "...mother... it hurts."_

_With surprising tenderness, Samara sat behind her daughter and held her torso gently. "...it hurts," the younger asari whimpered, unable to withstand the pain her body was in._

_The justicar took a momentary glace to the inert Shepard and back to her offspring and whispered as she stroked her cheek, "It's all right, child. It's all right."_

_Morinth began to sob as she knew what was to happen next, but knew it was a better alternative than to suffer as she was now, "I love you, Mother."_

"_I love you too, my dear. I always loved you," she whispered with all sincerity as she slowly wrapped her arms around Morinth's head and neck._

"_Find rest in the embrace of the Goddess."_

_The snap of Morinth's neck was quiet and almost inaudible. There was no pain._

_She picked up the lifeless body of her greatest daughter and carried it with reverence to the bed, where she wrapped the body in the clean, white sheets. She would send the local acolytes of Athame to recover and cremate the remains. After a moment of silence, Samara then moved to Shepard's body and noticed Nora's twitch. _

"_Shepard. Shepard! Are you well?" she asked as she nudged the human to stir._

_Nora's breath came in quickly and in gasps as she wearily turned to the asari and asked, "Wha... what happened?"_

_Samara asked calmly, "You do not remember?"_

_Shepard looked to the lights overhead and whispered hoarsely, "All I remember... was the Red Sand... and then I blacked out."_

_The justicar nodded, "I see." She then threw Shepard's arm over her shoulders and picked her up. _

"_Morinth?"_

_The older asari turned to the exit and said, "Dead. It is done. We have no further reason to remain here."_

_There was a pause before their departure before Shepard asked, "Are you... going to be alright?"_

_Samara allowed herself a small smile and replied, "Let us return you to a sound state of mind and body before you come to worry about me."_

_Shepard nodded wearily as the effects of the Minagen prevented her from standing upright. _

"Shepard came to me not long after, wracked with uncertainty," Samara said, her hands clasped at the small of her back. "She wondered if her actions, and her past actions after she recruited me would result in me having to execute justice according to the Code."

The Justicar turned to her and said, "In spite of her bloody past, she has found ways to administer justice in ways that the Code would not be violated. I have no reason to believe Shepard should fear any retribution from me, in case you were wondering, Ms. Chambers."

Kelly blinked at the asari's statement, but slowly a smile spread across her face which mirrored Samara's own.

"Thank you, Samara," the yeoman said as the justicar took her usual spot to continue her meditations.

"You are most welcome, Ms. Chambers," she said as light began to appear between an apex of her hands. "Please, if there is anything else I can do to assist Shepard's recovery, let me know. While she may not be our only hope against the oncoming darkness, she is still our first hope."

Kelly nodded and softly padded out of the room.


	11. Chapter 11

As their sessions continued, Kelly could see some noticeable changes in Shepard. The scars closed up, the red in her eyes started to leave, which allowed Nora's natural violet to show through. It brought out the natural attractiveness that drew people to her.

"How are you feeling?" Kelly asked as she took a set on the other side of the couch.

"Better, actually," Shepard answered, "If I can get Dr. Chakwas' permission, I may be able to get off of sick leave and start assisting the missions. I hate sitting on my behind while everyone else is doing the work. It's making me restless."

"I don't think anyone will begrudge you to take some time to get better. You've already beaten Sovereign and you've been through a lot. I personally think you've earned it."

Nora sighed wearily, "Not while the Collectors and the Reapers are out there. There's no rest for the wicked, which means there's no rest for me."

Kelly blinked and said, "What? What makes you say that?"

The Commander looked at her in dismay, "Torfan? No doubt Echo's told you about it, by now."

The yeoman nodded, then frowned. "Yes, she did. However, she wasn't there for Torfan. You were. I would rather hear it from you. She made you sound like some blood thirsty, psychopathic killer and I don't exactly trust her."

The older woman looked down, ashamed. "You'd be surprised..."

Kelly's frown grew. "Commander, stop it," she paused at her choice of words, along with Shepard, who raised an eyebrow, "I mean, there are too many factors to say simply if you were rightfully given that title anyway."

Shepard considered her words a moment. "Perhaps. Well, I mean, those raiders attacked Elysium. They had to be held accountable to that and since they weren't going to be judged by Council law, I had to do it. I didn't like it, though."

Kelly gave her an encouraging smile, "I didn't think so."

"It was like you had no good choices. You either survived or fulfilled your mission. Not to mention all the adrenaline going through your head made it difficult to think. You could only act and the act was completing the mission," Nora then leaned her head against the wall, "no matter the cost."

"What happened after the mission?" Kelly asked.

"After the debrief, I used my shore leave to try and drink myself stupid. I just didn't want to feel anything," she said and held her head against her hand.

"You tried?"

Shepard nodded with a wry smile, "Turns out that biotic metabolism, or at least mine, and alcohol don't mix very well."

"Must be interesting at parties," Kelly stated as she matched Shepard's own smile.

"You could say that. Being the only sober person on shore leave makes you wish you could get drunk," Shepard noted morosely.

"Any particular reason why?"

"It was the rumors. It was only a few days after the mission did the whole 'Butcher of Torfan' nickname start to circulate," Nora's face changed as she imitated another person in a mocking tone, "it's the Butcher! Stay away from her! She'll eat your soul and send you out to die!"

Kelly started to grow apprehensive as the heat in Shepard's face grew, "naturally, I got sent on assignments where chances of success and survival was low. I wanted to ask them to stop, but how could I? If I kept doing those missions, the rumors would only get worse. If I didn't do them, people would think I'd lost my nerve and they'd toss me into an asylum. Again; no better choice."

Nora's fingers dug into the couch as her face slowly contorted into a snarl, "oh, but that's not the best part. My former CO, Major Kyle was being taken into custody because he had lost it and threw his lot in with a bunch of persecuted biotics. I was to assist in his transfer to the Fifth Fleet and wouldn't you know it, a 'respectable' Alliance officer was dispatched to bring him in and prevent a blood bath. Because everybody knows that if the Butcher was sent, she'd only bring back his head and nuke the place!"

Rage turned to disgust, "The officer? Jane Clarke. Ever heard of her? You should, she's the Hero of the Skylian Blitz! The respectable and decorated officer!" Nora then slammed the side of her fist against the wall. "That self-righteous bitch!"

Kelly curled defensively as Nora stood up and stomped around her cabin, "Oh, but of course she has all the room to talk down to me. She's the hero! She has the Star of Terra! Me? I'm just the goddamn Butcher! And, of course, Kyle nearly loses it when he sees me. Then, when I have the audacity to try and explain myself, Clarke tries to get all moral with me about how the damn hero would have done it as though I were the goddamn devil!"

Shepard was about to continue her rant when she turned to see Kelly, frozen with fear. Immediately, the rage left her and in shame, she returned to her place on the couch. "I'm sorry, Kelly," Shepard said quietly.

The yeoman exhaled a breath of relief. "Don't be. You followed your orders and all those dead were not your fault. That is what the crux of this; Torfan was not your fault. Anyone who says otherwise wasn't there or is full of it."

"Like my CO was?"

Kelly raised an eyebrow, "You mean the one that had to be treated for PTSD? Commander, as much as I prefer giving people the benefit of the doubt, these Batarians destroyed the lives of so many people and they were getting away with it. If you hadn't stopped them there, who knows how many more they would have ruined."

The commander took a deep breath. "I can understand that, but it's hard when people don't acknowledge the lives you saved and instead only remind you of the lives you took."

The younger woman nodded, "Most are. However, if they had a problem with that, they can just go ahead and do what you did and see how they liked it."

Shepard remained downtrodden, "It's one thing when stupid cadets toss around rumors as if they're still in the academy, it's another when fellow officers and even superior officers won't even come near you. It's not hard to wonder what they're saying. Sure, what they think doesn't ultimately matter, but it's still not easy to deal with."

Kelly, after she gathered her courage, scooted over beside her and clasped Nora's hand gently, "That's why you're here, now. You don't want the past and what you were to dictate who you are or will be. We'll work our way through this. I promise."

The older woman looked to Kelly's hand over hers with a neutral expression, unsure whether to be surprised or displeased at the yeoman's actions. However, something won out inside the Commander's head as she turned her own hand over and held Kelly's softy. "You realize I am going to hold you to that promise, yeoman."

Kelly's face brightened with relief as she smiled and nodded enthusiastically.


	12. Chapter 12

"So," Kelly mentioned as she slid back a bit, "after all this, it seems you haven't told anyone of this at all?"

The commander shook her head, "You're right. I haven't told anyone all that I've told you. Bits and pieces here and there. The only person that knows this much is... Liara."

Kelly could determine the hesitancy in Nora's voice at the mention of her former team member and how she still felt about Dr. T'Soni. "If it's alright for me to ask; were you close?"

Shepard nodded slowly, "Yes. I always prided myself at erecting barriers between me and those who called themselves my friends. I hated myself for doing it. However," the older woman began to smile, "in the short span of a month, Liara T'Soni had wormed her way past every wall I put up. She never judged me. She somehow was able to keep me calm when I normally would have gotten angry. She reminded me so much of the real Nora."

"I know you met on Therum, but what exactly happened that made her stand out from the other members of your team?"

Shepard's smile soon grew playful as she said, on the verge of a chuckle, "I have no idea how long Liara was alone at the dig site, but by the time we got there, she must have been tired, hungry, and dehydrated. When she saw us, she said we were nothing more than hallucinations and when we tried to explain, she started singing The Beatles."

Kelly blinked. "The Beatles?"

Nora started to giggle as she continued, "Wrex and Ash thought she was crazy when she started singing 'Help'. I thought it was hilarious, though I felt bad for laughing, considering all that possibly happened. I had to apologize to her once we got back on the Normandy and got her a copy of 'A Hard Day's Night' as a way to make it up to her."

The yeoman wanted to stay professional, however, it was hard to fight the smile on her own face as she said, "Well, John was always the cute one."

The commander snorted, "John was a damn hippie. Paul was the cute one."

Kelly rolled her eyes and continued, "If this is getting too personal, please let me know. I know I've gained enough of your confidence to let me know all this, but I don't want to overstep my boundaries."

Shepard waved it off. "Nah. It's fine. In fact, since we've gotten this far; I found it strange that I grew fond of Liara. I mean, aside from the fact I was a recluse, I still consider myself straight, despite the obvious."

Kelly cocked an eyebrow. "How so?"

Nora's eyes twinkled mischievously. "I almost got kicked out of basic training because I kept getting caught peeking at the boys in the showers."

The younger woman held her hand to her mouth in shock as she snickered, "You serious?"

Shepard nodded. "And let me tell you, if a guy ever says he doesn't look at other guys' genitals to... ahem, 'compare and contrast', he's lying through his teeth*. Well, it's not true for all guys, but you'd be surprised at how many do. I could tell you more, but we're getting off track."

Kelly nodded. "And what about the others in your squad?"

The joy Nora displayed a moment before began to fade as it gave way to regret, "I wish I extended the same level of trust to them. They deserved so much better than someone that kept them at arm's length. Well, except for Wrex. He wasn't the touchy-feely type, but I'd still trust my life to him."

"They're still your friends, though. Aren't they?" Kelly probed.

"Yes. And against my better judgment, I began to think of Garrus and Tali as the brother and sister I always wanted," Nora's face lit up with affection as she spoke. Kelly noted that Shepard didn't smile much. Her smiles were nice.

However, the smile faded as Shepard went on, "I wanted to keep them close, even though I knew we would have to part ways. And then, I died."

It was a subject Kelly wanted to breach for a while, however, she had to be careful, "So, Commander... do you sometimes wonder if..."

"If I'm still me?" Nora finished for her. The older woman shook her head, "I don't know. I keep thinking about how Cerberus rebuilt me like a cyborg. I know for a fact I got Prothean brain patterns in my head. I have asari energies that are going to keep me alive far longer than I'm supposed to live. I'm like... some kind of patch work abomination."

Shepard then curled her legs against her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees, "not to mention the two years I lost. One moment, I'm falling to my death over Alchera, the next moment I wake up in a science facility owned by Cerberus."

The look Nora gave Kelly was anguished, despite the smile, "when last I saw her, Tali was on her Pilgrimage to become an adult. Then I meet her on Freedom's Progress to see her in command. Little Tali grew up... and I missed it. I missed so much. Everyone had moved on and I feel like I'll always be struggling to catch up. Ash is a Spectre, Garrus had his own vigilante group, Wrex is the leader of his people on Tuchanka, and Liara..."

Kelly knew what Shepard wanted to say, so, she did not press the issue. However, as lingering question still bothered the yeoman.

"How are you able to do it?"

"Do what?" Shepard asked.

"Keep going despite all this happening?" Kelly indicated with a sweep of her hand.

The commander was silent for a moment before she answered thoughtfully, "Two reasons. The first is that I know how to hold off something until a later time. The second..."

She stood up and stumbled to her desk. Nora opened a drawer and pulled out a book. While it was a common occurrence to see paper based books, despite the technology of holo pads and omni-tools, most people didn't even bother with them anymore.

As she sat beside Kelly, Shepard placed the book on the table, opened it up and from a small latch on the heavy cardboard book cover and pulled out a small plastic sack. The sack held a small amount of gray powder.

"Red Sand..." Kelly whispered in shock.

Shepard nodded tiredly, "It is, but it's not what you think. This particular batch is almost twenty years old."

The yeoman was confused now, "Wait, twenty years? It must have lost its potency long ago and turned into dust, why keep it?"

Nora's gaze turned to the packet and she frowned, "This is the life I promised Nora we'd leave behind. You have no idea how many junkies you would find, living or dead, in OLA and they would always have at least one packet of this stuff to snort. And so, here it is. The only thing that reminds me of how much worse it could have been."

As encouraged as Kelly was, she could not help but feel that the time she needed to restore Shepard's mental health was bound to be a lot less than what the galaxy would allot to her.

* * *

_*It's true._


	13. Chapter 13

At her console, Kelly's hands typed furiously. While the past few months had gone quickly, Shepard's own progress had slowed to a crawl. In fact, there wasn't any progress at all. Sure, she had gotten to know Shepard as a person over time, even grew fond of her. However, before someone's mental state could be restored, they needed to be deconstructed and bring to light a cause which brought on the psychosis in the first place. It was infuriating to both herself and Nora.

Thankfully, the commander had recovered to the point where Dr. Chakwas considered her physically fit enough to go on missions again. Both she and the medic agreed that Shepard needed to get back into action or else she'd go stir crazy to the point where she'd be literally bouncing off the walls to get back into action.

At the moment, the Normandy was in geosynchronous orbit over Tunchanka and Shepard was assisting Dr. Solus and Grunt with issues that needed to be addressed.

Then, the chatbox her benefactor used popped up on her screen.

_Urdnot Wrex knows whom you are and what you are doing. He wishes to speak with you, he may have insight which may help. _

As exciting as the prospect was, she had to remind herself that this was Tuchanka. If the Krogan and the local wildlife didn't kill you, the gale force winds would. The days were searing hot and the nights were freezing cold, regardless of season... well, if Tuchanka still had seasons. While she had basic weapons and combat training, she was in no position to go alone.

* * *

"Thank you, Samara," Kelly said as she wrapped herself in the heavy Cerberus issue jacket around her person tighter to fight against the cold.

The justicar nodded in response, seemingly unaffected by the cold, and remained a step behind the yeoman as they walked to the primary hall, where Urdnot Wrex sat in talks with what appeared to be a Krogan from another clan.

"They will fail, Urdnot! The tank-bred and his _krantt _will never kill the thresher maw!" said the Gatatog Uvenk.

Wrex smirked as he reclined against the back of his throne, "I recall you and those like you saying the same about me. Don't underestimate them, Uvenk."

The emissary snorted and stomped off, but not before offering a glare at Kelly and Samara as he passed.

The Urdnot clan leader then stepped off his throne and walked to Kelly and her escort. The krogan gave Kelly a hard glance, sized her up, then turned to his guards, "Leave. I need to speak with this human in private."

His guards nodded and left.

Wrex inclined his head back to his throne, which Kelly took to mean to follow him.

With a noticeable thump, the krogan sat back down on his throne and questioned, "So, what's this I hear about Shepard needing help?"

The yeoman swallowed and stepped forward, "Yes, well, I'm a psychologist and I've been speaking with Shepard for some time. It turns out that she has some problems in her past that she has yet to resolve. And it's taken a toll on her mental state."

The clan leader listened intently, which did not ease Kelly's anxiety.

"I know all that. However, what exactly is wrong with her? What's the cause of all this?"

Kelly shrugged her shoulders helplessly, "I don't know. At first, I thought she was doing fine. She was beginning to stabilize and improve, however, if you want to help someone, usually, it comes from an event or series of events which have such a hold on them that need to come to light, but either they don't know it themselves or don't want to reveal it."

It was then Wrex's frown grew. He then stood up, strode over to Kelly and stood only inches away from her face. "I will ask you this once, human. I've been told that I should inform you of anything that I may know that can help her. However, I don't trust you. Nor do I trust Cerberus. I've seen what they've done and what they're capable of doing. Tell me; are you doing this for Cerberus or for Shepard. Answer honestly, or else your asari friend here won't be able to help you."

Kelly tried to keep her trembling body still, however, the sheer size and presence of Urdnot Wrex, who stood only inches from her, drained her courage. Anyone knew that if you were within arm's reach of an angry Krogan, you were already dead.

Kelly could hear Samara's biotics begin to flare as she swallowed once again, and she realized that her throat was dry, "It's for Shepard's sake. She's the reason why I joined Cerberus."

The krogan took a moment to digest her words. The yeoman stood her ground, despite the loud and steady intake of breath from the krogan.

"Very well, human. But know this: if you don't take what I am about to tell you seriously, the Reapers will be the _least_ of your worries."

Kelly nodded, and recalled Garrus and Tali's similarly overprotective outbursts, as Wrex turned away and began to reminisce.

_Wrex could smell it. Blood. However, this particular scent only manifested itself when he could smell blood boiling. High levels of adrenaline, mixed with certain other chemical compounds from races that couldn't keep their scents in line, gave off a particular smell that only older Krogan like himself could detect. Someone was angry. Very, very angry. It ruined his appetite and figured he may as well find out the source. _

_He stood up from the bar in Flux and casually made his way through the wards. As easy as it was to push smaller folk out of the way, he knew that the best way to track anyone or anything was to hide in plain sight. His hunting instincts warned him that whoever put out this scent was angry and out for blood. It was also a familiar scent. _

_The crowds grew thinner as he made his way to the seedier areas of the wards. Of course, it lead to the areas just outside of Chora's Den. He allowed himself a smirk when he recalled how Shepard 'allowed' him to finish his job in dispatching Fist. Naturally, Williams had made a larger deal out of it than it really was. _

_He leaned against the edge of the wall, still hid within the shadows, and saw his quarry._

_Shepard was all alone, in what appeared to be a really unpleasant conversation, if the scowl on her face was of any indication. The other human, a male, spoke in hushed tones, to Wrex's frustration. However, what gave the krogan pause was how he seemed to smirk at Shepard, as though he were in a better position than her. Blackmail, perhaps?_

_He watched silently as Shepard stomped her way into Chora's Den. A moment later, the human followed. Wrex waited for too long before he chose to follow. However, the door opened and out stepped Shepard, the human, and a turian. _

_The three went to the alley beside the building and then, without warning, Shepard turned on the human and began to beat him viciously. While Wrex did not think much of many humans' prowess for hand to hand combat, he certainly could respect any creature that could fight the way Shepard could. It also gave him no small amount of satisfaction to see the turian raise his eyebrow... if he had one. _

_After nearly two minutes of solid beating, Shepard, out of breath, growled something in similarly hushed tones. In response, the human breathed out something Wrex could only guess was a threat. It was then Wrex cocked an eyebrow of his own, because he heard Shepard cackle. A low, deep, and insidious cackle that Wrex heard only from blood thirsty mercenaries and battlemasters more brutal than himself. _

_Shepard then muttered something out of his range of hearing, pulled out her pistol, and shot the man in the head. _

"So you see, human," Wrex said ominously, "if this is a secret that Shepard is willing to kill people to keep, then you best tread lightly."

Kelly stood there, shocked and horrified. What could have happened that could make Shepard so dangerously violent?


	14. Chapter 14

"**I know you spoke with the krogan, Kelly Chambers,**" Echo murmured from Shepard's bed.

"And if I did?" Kelly replied cautiously as the door closed and locked behind her, also aware that EDI and any devices meant for eavesdropping was disabled by Echo's presence alone.

"**Don't feign ignorance with me. I have an idea as to what you spoke about and what he may have told you,**" Echo said as she placed herself on the edge of the bed, one leg crossed over the other, her hands to support her weight.

"**You're searching for something. Something deep. Something forbidden. Something that your precious Shepard would eagerly kill to keep from exposing it to the light,**" Echo whispered with a playfully cruel smile on her face.

Kelly and the Prothean matched stares for a moment. Echo, as despicable as she was, was right. The yeoman was at a loss and had no idea how to get to that one aspect that would easily bring Shepard's mental health back.

Before Kelly could give a proper answer, Echo asked, her smile almost predatory, "**Would you like to know?**"

"What?"

Echo stood up and quickly closed the distance between them. Echo then grabbed Kelly by the jaw and pulled her face closer to her own. The Prothean whispered seductively in the yeoman's face and the glow from her eyes unsettled Kelly, "**I can tell you anything about her. I know everything there is to know about Shepard, Kelly Chambers... Everything.**"

Echo's emphasis on that last word caused Kelly's heart to beat faster. Her hand was on the top of an unlocked Pandora's Box. She needed to know the reason why. However, such knowledge could easily mean her death if Wrex's story was to be believed. Arguments for and against went through her head as Echo slowly pulled back, like a snake about to consume its prey.

_Shepard believes in you, Kelly!_ Her heart screamed. _How could you violate her trust?_

_You have to know the truth! How else can you help her?_ Her mind responded.

Aware that this could easily spell ruin for her, Kelly, between breaths whispered back, her face a mask of fear, whispered back, "Tell me."

Pleased at her decision; Echo leaned forward once again.

In hushed tones, she whispered an event which caused Kelly's eyes to widen in horror and tears to gather at the corners of her eyes.

"Oh no..." Kelly sobbed and held her hands against her face as she slid down against the walls of the locked door.

Satisfied, Echo stepped back, her hands on her hips, "**what do you from here, Kelly Chambers, is all up to you. If you are successful, you will cure her of the spiritual miasma she suffers from. However, there will be a risk on your part.**"

Kelly sniffed and wiped her face free of tears as she sent a hateful glare to Echo. Bad enough of what she learned, the fact that Echo had so casually told something so private to her made Kelly feel as thought she had taken advantage of Shepard.

"How could you..." Kelly whispered angrily, "how dare you put this on me! I would rather Shepard tell me this herself, not you telling this to me behind her back!"

Echo did not seem troubled at all, "**Unfortunately, your precious Shepard is reticent to reveal this. She fears the truth and that is the only thing that can save her.**"

Kelly, her courage found, stood up, "That's not your place to decide!"

The Prothean threw her head back and laughed, "**Oh, it is, Kelly Chambers. After all, my revenge and your species' existence depends on it. Whether you like it or not. Enjoy.**"

Echo then returned to the bed and in a matter of seconds, Shepard's body fell to sleep.

Kelly took her leave immediately. She needed time to think about this.

* * *

Shepard could tell something was wrong. Very wrong. Kelly always had something to say, however, this session, she was strangely quiet. Granted, their recent sessions had not borne much progress, however, they both hoped that a breakthrough of some sort would happen.

Now, however, something left Kelly far more pensive than usual as she sat her end of the sofa. The commander had to ask, "Kelly, are you ok?"

Kelly nodded tiredly, "Yes, commander." She hadn't slept in two days, but of course she didn't tell the truth and she hated herself for it.

The yeoman dreaded Nora's next question, "Kelly, what happened?"

The younger woman then took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Commander... I know what happened at the church," she said as Shepard's eyes grew wide, "it's not your fault."

Shock, anger, betrayal. Kelly could see all of those in Nora's face as she continued, "it wasn't your fault."

"...no," Shepard whispered as she started to quiver.

"Shepard, you were defending yourself." Kelly leaned forward, her eyes locked with Nora's.

"No..." Shepard's hands started to clench.

"It was an accident." Kelly pleaded.

"No!" The Commander started to shake violently.

"Nora's death wasn't your fault!" Kelly almost shouted as her eyes started to water.

"NO!" Shepard screamed and lunged for Kelly with murder in her eyes.

Kelly tried to move out of the way, but a trained Spectre, even one in therapy, was far faster than she was and both women landed on the floor, with the yeoman pinned beneath. Kelly was fortunate that she had placed her hands in front of Shepard's own, for had she not, her neck would have been open for strangling. However, it didn't take long for Nora to move past her meager defenses and clamp her hands around the yeoman's neck.

"Nora! It wasn't your fault! It never was your fault!" Kelly cried as she tried to pry Shepard's vice-like grip off.

"NO!" Nora bellowed like a rabid animal.

"Nora! Stop! You're hurting me! The fire was not your fault!" Kelly got out just as Shepard's hold on her neck caused her vision to darken.

"NO!" Shepard roared again, let go of Kelly, turned around and slammed both of her arms into the glass table which sent broken shards everywhere and the Prothean artifact sphere to the other side of the room.

The yeoman coughed violently as air raced back into her lungs as she saw a weeping Shepard on the remnants of the table. Despite her brush with death, Kelly quickly stood up and retrieved a first aid kit from a compartment beside the door.

With some effort, she pulled Nora off the broken glass and to the bed, where she took a medicinal cloth to brush off any shards that might have lodged inside her arms and quickly applied the medi-gel to the various bleeding cuts.

When the wounds were tended to, Kelly looked up to see Nora's face soaked with tears, "I'm so sorry..." she wailed. "I'm so sorry..."

Kelly threw her arms around Shepard, who responded in kind and wept into the younger woman's shoulder, her apology repeated over and over before she broke down into heaving sobs. For a moment, Kelly wondered if the apology was for her or for the real Nora.

More than an hour of passed before the Yeoman spoke over Shepard's lament.

"You're alright, Nora. You're alright," Kelly said soothingly and stroked her hair.

"I hurt you, Kelly. I'm a monster..." Shepard whispered between sniffs as the tear stain on Kelly's shirt grew larger.

"No, Nora. You're not a monster. You never were," Kelly responded as she gently rocked the taller woman in her arms. "You're human. You want to be the person Nora would have been. You keep getting up, no matter how much you fall."

It was then Kelly turned Nora's face to her and she said, "You are Nora Shepard. You are trusted, you are believed in," the yeoman wasn't sure why she said what she did as she whispered, " and you are loved," and kissed the tears beneath Shepard's eyes away.

Between kisses, Kelly could see the scared, hungry, and desperate little girl that Shepard had told her about. The same little girl that grew up into this mess of a woman that needed something so basic as a friend and confidant.

Shepard, amid sniffs, did not resist as the younger woman also wiped away the remaining moisture tenderly. After a moment, the counselor gently eased Nora and herself down on the bed and allowed both of them to position themselves comfortably so Kelly could let the emotionally exhausted Shepard slowly drift off to sleep, despite her grip on the yeoman.

When Kelly was sure Nora was asleep, she gently pulled herself away, gave Nora once last kiss on her cheek, and quietly walked to the door.

_Finally,_ Kelly thought with a tired smile, _now, we can finally start the healing process. _

However, as she entered the elevator and pushed the button to take her back to the CIC, her smile faded, she leaned against the wall of the elevator, and began to cry.

She was no longer eligible to assist Shepard in her recovery.


	15. Chapter 15

"I've become emotionally compromised," Kelly told the Illusive Man frankly, "and as such, I am unfit to continue with Shepard's psychiatric recovery and would like to request a reassignment."

Like anyone in the medical profession, one of the most important rules one should never break is to become emotionally involved with your patient.

She had broken that rule. Her father, a psychiatrist himself, had told her stories of unfortunate results of what had happened when that cardinal rule was broken. And as much as Kelly prided herself as a professional, it seemed she was just as human as the next person.

The Illusive Man stared at her, thoughtful. He then tipped his cigarette over the ashtray before he spoke.

"I can understand your worry concerning the matter, Ms. Chambers. And for what its worth, I have respected your need for confidentiality about your sessions with Shepard. However, I must deny your request."

"What?"

"Ms. Chambers, I chose you not simply because you're a highly trained and qualified individual, but because you understand the need for professionalism. If you have become emotionally compromised, as you say, then I would suggest you find a way to work around it. You're one of the best humanity has to offer, Ms. Chambers," he took a drink from his glass of scotch, "act like it."

Before she could protest, the image vanished and the holographic cylinder descended back into the floor.

She began to wonder if it ever was an 'honor' to be hand picked by the Illusive Man in the first place. If the whole ordeal with the 'disabled' Collector vessel wasn't bad enough, his detachment from the realities of psychiatry and his insistence that she just 'do it' ate away at her confidence in him.

"I'm sorry, Kelly," a new voice said from behind her.

The yeoman whirled around to see Shepard against the bulkhead, her gaze locked towards the floor.

"Don't be," she replied sincerely and walked up to Shepard. Kelly was not sure why, again, however, she reached forward and took one of Shepard's hands in both of her own.

"Commander. You have something special that can draw people to you. It could be any number of things, but to me... it's when you told me about how much you cared for Liara, Garrus, and Tali. The way you smiled, the way your face lit up."

She looked up to see Shepard almost surprised at her announcement, despite all that had happened.

"You told me you thought yourself a monster, but that was never true. When you smile and laugh, there was something warm, radiant, and alive inside. That's... well, at least, that's what drew me to you. And for what it's worth, man or woman, it wouldn't have changed anything, as long as you were the same."

Shepard matched the smile Kelly had on her face and nodded in appreciation. Slowly, her hand rose and clasped Kelly's hands on her own.

"Thank you, Kelly," Shepard replied softly, aware that the moment had to pass. "You're too good for Cerberus, you know that?" The compliment caused the yeoman to blush furiously and smile.

"So, where do we go from here?" Nora asked as her hands slowly let go of Kelly's, to the reluctance of the younger woman.

With a heavy sigh, Kelly started to walk to the CIC with Shepard beside her. "Well, considering how... out of the ordinary our current circumstances are, we may need to find an alternative method."

"Such as?"

"Well, I don't want you to be put with someone whom you don't trust and after all you've told me," Kelly said, one hand cradled her head and her other the opposing elbow, "the closest person that comes to mind is Dr. Chakwas. However, she's not trained."

Shepard nodded in understanding. "I trust Helen, but like you said, she's a medic, not a shrink."

There was a pregnant pause before the doors opened as inspiration sparked in Kelly's head.

"Would you object to her being an observer? Make sure nothing happens? If you trust her enough, then it should work."

Shepard looked to the ceiling in though for a moment before she nodded.

"Yes, that'd work perfectly."

Kelly looked hopeful as the doors opened to the CIC and to their next mission.

* * *

"**I'm intrigued, Kelly Chambers,**" Echo said pensively as she stood in front of the window.

"With what?" the younger woman asked tiredly as she tried to rub the exhaustion from her eyes. Echo, as usual, seemed to ignore any sort of inconvenience she caused others.

"**You are easily in a position to put yourself in place of the asari in Shepard's heart, but you refrain. Shepard is here, the asari is on Illium, consumed with revenge and seemingly indifferent to the affection they once shared.**"

Kelly was shocked. Echo, who had shown herself to be as despicable as some of the characters Shepard ran into, actually looked out for her? What was going on?

"What are you getting at?" she asked, her suspicions not masked at all.

"**I may be indifferent to your plight, however, I am not unreasonable. You have exposed Shepard's pain and I can feel the miasma fading. You have saved Shepard in ways you cannot imagine. As such, I feel compelled to reward you.**"

"Reward me?" Kelly gaped, "What could you possibly give? You have to assume control of Shepard's body in order to do anything."

With no warning, Echo closed the gap between them both, pinned Kelly to the wall, and whispered seductively in her ear, "**I can give you Shepard.**"

Kelly's eyes widened and her mind reeled. The implications caused her face to contort in anger. "You'd change her? You monster!"

Echo's self-satisfied smirk only grew as she nuzzled Kelly's neck with a kiss here and there. "**Nothing so simple, my dear. Much like Indoctrination, I can whisper in the back of her mind. However, there is no change at all. No damage. No degradation. Merely... suggestions. After all, the asari has more or less abandoned her and you have shown her the same selfless caring that drew her to the asari in the first place.**"

As right as the Prothean was, Kelly could not bring herself to admit it. The exciting shivers she felt at Echo's touch and the warmth of Shepard's body against hers also did not help matters. It was difficult to concentrate as Echo's free hand slowly went up the outside of Kelly's thigh through her clothes.

"**Imagine,**" Echo whispered, her lips only centimeters from Kelly's as their fingers interlocked with each other, "**the Reapers defeated. She has achieved victory for you and your people. And she returns to you, and only you. I merely give her a gentle push and the rest she does on her own.**"

Time suddenly stood still for Kelly. To be on the receiving end of the love that Liara T'Soni once knew? She knew Shepard now, and she was in a position that many, many people would kill for. In an instant, she saw the possibility of Echo's 'reward'. All of a sudden, it was something she would have gladly taken under any other circumstance. To see Shepard hold her close and consider her the most important person in the world would be all she would ever want. As wonderful as the thought was, it was all too good to be true.

Kelly closed her eyes, shook her head, and gently pushed Echo away.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I'd be lying to say I wasn't tempted, but knowing that this was how it came to be. This, this farce. I'd never be able to live with myself. And Shepard... no. I would never want to do that to her."

The Prothean looked at her evenly. Not angered, not overjoyed. A moment of silence passed between them until Echo snorted, shrugged, and murmured dispassionately, "**As you wish,** **Kelly Chambers.**"

* * *

The yeoman stood at her console. Lost in thought. She felt her heart pounding after barely avoided the altercation with Echo, with the potential to make things worse between herself and Shepard.

What if Echo continued to meddle, despite her refusal? Something had to be done. Her mind raced for answers. Of course!

Immediately, she sent a request to the Illusive Man. What enabled her to grant her a direct line of communication was how to assist Shepard best.

_Cerberus00: What is it you need, Ms. Chambers?_

_KellyGirl: Any and all information we have on the Shadow Broker._


	16. Chapter 16

A short while ago, Shepard had reunited with Dr. T'Soni with the information Kelly had acquired for the former. While Nora initially held reservations about Liara's consuming need for revenge, she had acquiesced and agreed to assist the asari.

It did not take long for the Shadow Broker to move against her. Not only did the Broker have a private army at his disposal, but a Council Spectre as well. However, the traitorous Tela Vasir had not lasted long against Nora, Liara, and Garrus. Thankfully, they were able to recover the information they needed to find the location of the mysterious individual that more or less kept the balance of power in the galaxy.

At the moment, they were en route to an out of the way planet known as Hagalaz, where the Shadow Broker's base was hidden. While Dr. Chakwas inspected Garrus and Shepard for injuries, Kelly had borrowed Liara for a moment and brought her to Kasumi's room.

Normally, the thief would have cloaked herself and listened in, since she considered everyone's business, her business. However, she was fond enough of the yeoman to respect her request for privacy. Kelly was grateful for the asian woman's consideration.

"Dr. T'Soni, could I ask you why?" Kelly said cordially.

"Why, what?" Liara replied surprised.

"A while ago, Shepard had asked you to come with her. But you refused. I know the reason you told her, but I don't buy that," Kelly's said as her frown grew.

"I don't understand," Liara said.

"Dr. T'Soni, don't dismiss what I have to say because I was not there. I know I wasn't, and as such, my perspective is limited. However, what little I have seen makes me very unhappy with what you've done to Shepard," Kelly huffed.

Liara frowned. "Do you think I wanted to do that to her? Shepard means more to me than you'll ever realize."

"I have a hard time believing that, Doctor. If she meant that much to you, why keep her at arm's length when she needed you the most? Is this random stranger that helped you out this one time that important that you'd throw away all that you had with Shepard on a whim?"

Liara's temperament grew heated, "You said your perspective was limited, Ms. Chambers. And you're right. If it wasn't for my friend, Shepard would not be here today. I owe him that much."

"If what you've said about him is true, then he knew the risks. I know it sounds cold of me to say that, however, as a trained psychiatrist, Shepard suffered a lot worse without you." Kelly felt simultaneously envious and angry at Liara as she continued to rant.

"And do you know what the worst part of it is? She always cared for you! She still cares for you! All you'd have to do is ask and she'd go to ends of the galaxy for you. From what she has told me, I can count the number of people she implicitly trusts on one hand and you're on the top of that list!"

Kelly found her breathing staggered as she continued. "For Nora to go as far as she has for anyone, after all she has endured, shows what kind of a person she is. But you know what your negligence did? She almost turned into what you are now. I don't know if it's by some miracle, but I've finally been able to convince her that she's not the blood-thirsty killer the galaxy believes she is."

The yeoman held her hands against her head as she felt herself lose control of her own tongue. "You know what I think? I think your 'friend' was just an excuse! If it that wasn't the case, you would have come with Shepard the first time you two reunited. But no, you had to look for the Shadow Broker. Because this was about you, not your friend or Shepard. Just you. I can't believe Shepard would care for someone so unbelievably selfish-"

Kelly's cheek stung from the collision from the palm of Liara's hand.

The asari was livid and her biotics flared. "How dare you, Kelly Chambers! Do you think I enjoy seeing Nora in pain? Do you think I wanted to become this? Do you really believe that I would easily toss aside all that we have just like that? When I saw her again, I could sense her pain and it hurt me like nothing else. She tried to contact me several times, but I was being monitored. I wanted, more than anything, to join her."

Kelly's glare didn't diminish, even in the face of Liara's anger.

Immediately, Liara's anger flickered out as she turned to the window as she continued, "But you should know, Kelly Chambers, that life always has a way of taking what you want. It took my mother from me, it took away my father before I ever had a chance to know her, it took Shepard away from me, it took friends, and it will still continue to take."

As angry as Kelly was with Liara, she remained silent as she continued. "And while there's a chance to take something back ... there is some truth in what you say, Ms. Chambers."

The doctor then turned towards the door and before it opened, she said quietly, "Thank you for being there for Shepard when I could not. You're a far better person than I am."

The door closed silently as Kelly was left alone, the sting on her cheek diminished.

* * *

In the loading bay, Kelly, since she wasn't on shift, sat on a crate and idly swung her legs. They had found the Shadow Broker's base, rescued a drell named Feron, and Liara had come to visit Shepard in her quarters to discuss... 'things'.

When Joker had tried to initiate a conversation with her about some asari movie, the yeoman left the pilot to discuss it with EDI, who'd be a far better match for his temperament.

It was then Kelly admitted to herself that she was jealous of the asari. No doubt, at the moment, they were together, made up for lost time, made promises, and embraced eternity. Kelly looked at her omni-tool's clock and noticed it had been nearly half a day since Liara had shown up. As easy as it was to make Joker-like observations about the commander's intimacy, she knew that it'd only make things worse.

So, she hopped off the crate and was on her way to the elevator when it opened a moment before it should have. There stood Liara, fresh and even more relaxed than before.

_Yep, Eternity was certainly Embraced_, Kelly thought, despondent.

To her surprise, the asari walked towards her and threw her arms around Kelly's shoulders in a loving embrace.

At first, Kelly was rigid and shocked, however, she eased when she heard the doctor sniff and say, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

When Liara pulled herself back, her eyes were filled with tears of joy. "I have seen what you have done for Shepard. I will always be grateful to you for being here. Thank you, again."

Kelly then gave her a semi-lopsided smile and replied sincerely, "You're welcome, Dr. T'Soni."

"Please," the asari said as she took one of Kelly's hands with both of her own, her smile not at all diminished, "call me Liara."

The yeoman's grin grew as she answered, "Of course, Liara."


	17. Chapter 17

"I don't see what good I can do in this position," Dr. Chakwas murmured as she took the corner seat of the sofa in Shepard's quarters.

"Don't worry, Dr. Chakwas. You're just here to observe. And it's not that hard, really," Kelly said as she took her regular seat beneath the desk.

"My dear, I highly doubt you'd actively try to seduce the Commander, even without me here," the medic said with lowered eyelids and a sardonic grin.

"Still, we need someone that both the Commander and I can trust to be discreet," Kelly said and gave Chakwas a humored smile.

"Very well. Begin," the doctor sighed and leaned against the sofa.

Shepard whispered a thank you to the doctor as Kelly went through her notes.

Kelly looked up from her pad and to Shepard. "There's something that's been bothering me. Was someone trying to blackmail you during your hunt for Saren?"

Shepard looked to the side for a moment. Then, nodded when the memories returned, "Yes. Evidently, one of the Reds were able to put two and two together and realized that I had taken Nora's place."

_From her desk, Shepard looked over the message that she had received not too long ago._

'_Hey, Shepard. Remember me? Your old buddy, Finch? I was able to get onto the Citadel just a day ago and thought we could catch up on old times. Remember?'_

_If Finch was here, not only did it mean that Crumb was right behind him, but the Reds had caught up with her. _

_She had dreaded the need to return to the Citadel to resupply, because she knew she would have to face this sooner or later._

_She informed the rest of the crew that during this time, they all would have time to themselves, which would give Shepard all the time she needed to resolve this problem alone. _

_Sure enough, Finch was leaning against the wall in the alleyway beside of Chora's Den. _

_She stomped up to the man, and before he could introduce himself, she grabbed the scruff of his shirt and slammed him against the wall.  
_

"_The hell are you doing here!" Nora snarled, her teeth bared and breath hot with rage. _

_While initially spooked, Finch tried to keep his cool. "Hey, hey! Come on. No need for hostilities. I mean, we Reds look out for each other, right?"_

"_Don't even try to be funny, Finch. What the hell do you want?" Shepard said as she let the man go and took a step back. _

"_Glad to see you're still all business... 'Shepard'," Finch said with a smirk._

"_Start talking, Finch, or else," Shepard growled, her patience thinned. _

"_I'm not stupid, 'Shepard'. When we saw the news feed of you getting made Spectre, I knew you looked familiar."_

"_The point, Finch!"_

"_The point is, since you're a big time Spectre, you got some cred with some of these people. We need help. Remember Kurt? The Turians arrested him for practically nothing. What I want you to do is speak to the Turian guard inside the bar and let him out."_

"_And if I refuse?"_

"_We'll see how long the big wigs in the Council will let you stay as a Spectre when they know what you did, 'Nora'."_

"_You son of a bitch!"_

"_Your choice, 'Shepard'. Either Kurt gets out or I'm going to Westerlund News with the scoop of the decade. I hear that al-Jilani bitch would *love* to hear what I got to say."_

_Shepard's gaze remained hard as she left Finch and walked into the bar. _

_However, after a little digging with the Turian guard, it seemed that Finch wasn't being entirely truthful. _

_With a raised eyebrow, Shepard responded to the news of what the Reds had become, "You don't say?"_

"_Yo, Shepard, what's the hold up?" Finch grumbled as he sauntered over to where Nora and the guard stood. _

"_Ah, I should have known," the Turian guard said without surprise. _

"_Finch, you liar! I knew Kurt was an ass, but trying to poison civvies? What, have the Reds gotten so stupid that they think that pulling this will do any good?" Shepard's anger returned, though not to the inferno it was a moment before._

"_He's the one lying, Shepard. Kurt's business was none of the Turians'," Finch replied defensively. _

"_While in an unauthorized ship in Turian space?" the guard said with a cocked eyebrow. _

_With her hands in the air, Shepard said, "Alright, alright. Let's not let this come to blows. Let's go outside where we can discuss this privately."_

_She led both the Turian and Finch outside the bar and into the alleyway._

_With no warning, Shepard whirled around and struck Finch in the face with her fist. As he staggered back, Nora charged and kicked him in the stomach which knocked the air out of him. The turian remained passive as the first human Spectre began to kick Finch repeatedly, pick him up, and punch him square in the nose. Both Shepard and Finch breathed hard, but the man had a bit of difficulty as blood flowed from his nose and into his mouth._

"_Leave, Finch. Don't ever come back," Shepard growled between breaths. _

"_You bitch! You think you can get away with this? The whole damn galaxy's gonna know about you, 'SHEPARD'."_

_Though almost out of breath, Nora could not resist the chuckle that emerged from the back of her throat. The Reds thought they could control her? After all the stupid things they did? After they tried to kill her?_

"_No, Finch," Nora whispered, pulled out her gun, and placed the barrel at his forehead, "they won't."_

_To both Nora's and the Turian's surprise, Finch only smirked. "Nah, you won't do it. I know you too well."_

_She pulled the trigger in response. Finch was the only one that knew. He was there. And now, no one knew. Shepard was now the only one left who knew what happened. "No, Finch. You don't."_

_She then turned to the pile of crates further into the alley, "Crumb, you spineless, little weasel! I know you're there! COME OUT!"_

_True to form, Crumb, Finch's toadie, emerged from the shadows, almost ready to wet himself after he saw what happened to the deceased Red._

_The snarl returned on Nora's face as she shouted, "GET OVER HERE!" Immediately, her biotic field appeared around Crumb and despite his struggles, hovered over to the waiting Spectre. When he was within arm's reach, she grabbed him and slammed him against the opposing wall, where he got a good look at the blood stain across from them._

"_Don't worry, Crumb," Nora growled with a twisted smile, "I'm not gonna kill you. I'm going to let you go. Be sure and let the other Reds know that if they try anything like this again; I'll come after them next. And you know what that means? It'll make the... scuffle they had with the Bones seem like a gentle reaming in comparison! I know people. I will find out. We clear?"_

"_Y... yeah!" Crumb whimpered as Nora let him go and he made a mad dash away from the den._

_The Turian stood with his arms folded. "A bit violent, but perhaps necessary. No different from the barefaces back home."_

_Shepard threw the guard an angry glance before she picked up Finch's body. _

"_There's an incinerator/recycle center just down the way. You can dispose of it there," the turian said, as if not surprised at Shepard's actions. _

"_Why are you helping me?" she asked._

_The turian shrugged. "Turians place an emphasis on honesty. The fact he tried to manipulate you and use your past against you made your actions more justifiable. As far as I'm concerned, you defended yourself. Granted, killing him was a bit much, but perhaps your circumstances couldn't allow any alternative."_

_She nodded in appreciation and mumbled, "Too many bad things came from my past. No more."_

"_Perhaps there's hope for your race, after all." The Turian nodded in understanding and went back to the Den. _

There was a long silence as Shepard held her face in her hands, "I didn't have to shoot him. I didn't want to."

"So, he knew what happened at the Church," Kelly asked quietly.

She nodded, "He and I were the only ones. Finch had used that to keep me in the Reds. Until I escaped. It seemed too good to be true that I was free."

"Think they'll come after you again?" Kelly queried.

Shepard shook her head, "Crumb may have been a pansy-ass, but he wasn't stupid. He didn't know what happened at the church and Finch wasn't the kind to tell secrets, especially to Crumb."

"Have the Reds bothered you since then?"

"No. Thankfully. Though, I can't help but wonder sometimes if Crumb will eventually let them know. What then?"

Kelly took a quiet breath."For now, we'll put that aside. Right now, we have bigger things to deal with."


	18. Chapter 18

How could they have known?

Kelly sat against the sleek and slimy back of the pod she found herself trapped in.

The IFF was in the core of a dead Reaper for who knew how long. And yet, it seemed the timing of the Collectors were perfect.

They tried to fight back, but their numbers were too great.

The crew was simply not combat ready the way Shepard and her squad was.

Kelly had never felt so helpless before in her life. Even with combat training, the sight of the Collectors and their unsettling yellow eyes with the unearthly glow struck down her courage faster than a sand castle on the beach.

Of course, she was just a counselor. Minimal combat training. Sure, she could hold a gun and fire it at big targets, but to use it as effectively as Shepard? Kelly snorted at the idea.

Another voice, not far from her location, screamed as the horrid process turned another human into a kind of paste. She held her hands to her ears to keep the screams out, but the images would not leave her be.

"Make it stop," she whimpered weakly.

"It's the crew! Open those things up!" a familiar voice ordered.

"Shepard?" Kelly said and stood up.

"Kelly!" the Commander said as she reached Kelly's pod and began to frantically search for an opening as Kelly beat her hands against the semi-translucent material that held her in.

The yeoman heard a noise from above her head and she looked up to see a swarming black mass over her head. Shepard noticed it as well as Kelly screamed and hit the glass harder.

In response, Shepard lifted the butt of her rifle up and smashed through the glass, used the opening to pry the lid off, and yank the yeoman out just an instant before the black mass was about to consume her.

The counselor's arms were wrapped around Shepard's waist as she tried to catch her breath and keep her wits about her.

"How is she?" Shepard asked Mordin as she started to apply the Medi-gel.

"Damage superficial. Should recover quickly," the doctor said as he went to inspect the rest of the crew.

Kelly's breath returned to normal and she looked up to her rescuer and said, "You came for us..."

Nora nodded, "No one gets left behind, remember? Also, you're not getting out of the promise you made me, yeoman."

Kelly blinked, smiled, then nodded eagerly. "Of course."

The commander helped the smaller woman to her feet as the rest of the crew assembled and prepared to return to the Normandy.

* * *

It had been two days since the destruction of the Collector's base. It threw Kelly for a loop when she heard that the Illusive Man had wanted Shepard to spare it. How could he be so heartless? The only technology there was meant to create more of those monsters.

She had made it clear that she approved of Shepard's decision, after all that she saw.

The rest of the crew, Miranda and Jacob included, agreed that the Illusive Man had crossed the line when he was willing to sacrifice all of them 'for Humanity'.

At the debriefing they all attended, when Shepard had asked all them for ideas, since they were more or less on their own. Kelly, in a fit of inspiration, had made a gesture she had seen not too long ago.

She stepped forward and ripped off the Cerberus insignia from her shoulder and threw it on the ground. A move soon followed by Miranda, Jacob, and the rest of the crew.

"Buncha goddamn heroes," Kelly heard Zaeed mutter. However, Kelly knew better. She had seen the old merc almost change since he had boarded the ship. True, he was more or less the same. However, she had heard via scuttlebutt that Shepard had made a promise to him that she'd help him hunt down someone, since she had apparently let him escape not long after Zaeed found him. While, as he put it, 'rage is a hell of an anesthetic', he had cooled down a bit and was, hopefully, not about to commit the same mistakes again. Besides, she was rather fond of the old coot.

A small smile came to the counselor's face as she thought about how everyone had changed for the better due to Shepard's influence. Granted, not all the changes were quite noticeable. Jack and Miranda still disliked each other, Garrus still calibrated, and Joker was still an ass. However, the morale had gone up for each person that had allowed Shepard to assist them.

In turn, it had an effect on Nora that brought out that radiance of her character. You still had to look for it since it had to be buried under the layers of strength and caution she had built up over the years. Thankfully, Kelly could see the Nora Shepard Ann wanted to be, come out. It would take time and it wouldn't be simple. But then again, it always did and it never was.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Jacob's hand slowly clasp Kasumi's out of the sight of everyone but hers. Another effect of Shepard's influence over those under her command. Both Kasumi and Jacob had spoken with her about their respective problems and how Nora had helped them resolve it. While Kelly probably didn't see, she figured that Nora encouraged them to act like the real Nora would have. So, it appeared that they had both moved on and into each other.

It caused her smile to grow larger as Nora turned on the comm system,"Joker, take us to Omega. We got some Cerberus insignias to paint off."

EDI would be grateful for that.

* * *

The reports came mentally, however, Kelly's analysis of them just would not come. Her hands hovered over the keyboard, but her fingers felt paralyzed. A fact that had not gone unnoticed by Shepard, who stood with a pad of her own over the CIC.

"Kelly? You ok?" Nora said as she stepped down from the platform.

"I... I can't..." Kelly stammered.

Shepard then gently took her arm and lead her to the hallway just outside of Mordin's lab.

"EDI, lock the doors, please. And give us some privacy, if you would," the Commander requested of the AI.

"Of course, Shepard. Logging you and Kelly out." With that, the primary lights dimmed and was replaced by the emergencies as the doors locked.

"Kelly, what's wrong?" Nora asked as she held the yeoman by her shoulders.

The younger woman began to shake as she whimpered, "I just can't keep the memories of the base out. Every time someone ended up dying because of those machines, I keep hearing the screams. I just felt so helpless. It's like when they attacked the ship after you left. I couldn't do anything to help them."

Shepard took a step forward and wrapped her arms around the smaller woman's shoulders. "It's all right. You're ok, Kelly."

The yeoman took a deep breath, and shook her head, "No, Commander. It's not all right. I could have done more."

"No, Kelly. You're a counselor here on this ship. You've done more here than you realize. You've helped me get over problems I never would have beaten myself."

Kelly stepped back. "While you are right, Commander, I want to do more. And since we're no longer Cerberus, that puts all of us at risk. I don't want to be caught unprepared again."

Shepard was unsure where this conversation was headed. "So, are you saying what I think you are saying?"

Kelly nodded.

"You want to be a soldier?"

"Yes, Commander."

Nora gave Kelly a hard and long look. Kelly wanted to show how serious she was as she attempted to match the stare Shepard gave her.

"You realize that become a solider isn't as easy as-"

"Commander, I know. We all knew the risks of this mission when we signed up with Cerberus. However, since we no longer have Cerberus at our backs, we're extremely vulnerable. And with the Reapers coming..." Kelly couldn't finish her sentence, despite her earlier bravado.

There was another moment of silence as Nora sized up Kelly, the former's face unreadable.

"All right," the commander acquiesced, "if you want to be a solider, I'll do my best to make sure to work to your strengths."

"I won't let you down, sir," Kelly said as she gave Nora the most professional salute she could muster.

Shepard waved it off. "First things first. We're not a military vessel. So, you can stop with the sirs, ma'ams, and Commanders. You're my best friend, Kelly. Call me Nora."

Kelly almost swooned. However, she caught herself and offered, "That you've ever had?"

Shepard caught on with a smile, nodded, and replied, "Been with me for such a long time."

The yeoman giggled, "Freddie would have appreciated that."*

Nora failed to fight the grin on her face as she said in agreement, "I think so." She then inclined her head towards the door, "Now then, let's get you to the armory. I think there's sniper rifle in there with your name on it."

* * *

*Even in the future, Queen still rocks.

Additional note: So many hits, so few reviews. Could you wonderful people who are taking the time to read my humble offering be so kind as to leave a review as to why you are enjoying this story? You can even say why you don't like this story! It gives incentive to write better! I'll read them, no need to be scared. :)


	19. Chapter 19

**Note: The following two chapters are fiction. Any and all similarities to actual story written in Mass Effect 3 are purely coincidental, as I have not read the story spoilers that were leaked. If that is the case, Bioware needs to kick up their writing a notch, because if a two-bit fanfiction author can figure a guess what goes on in a professionally published game, they need to hire me. I'm available. :)**

* * *

"How's your gear holding up, Kelly?" Nora inquired with her back turned to the younger woman as they both began to unpack their weapons.

The Yeoman, now an Infiltrator in training, gave her a humored smile. The last few weeks had been almost hellish, but something she had requested nonetheless. With the help of Shepard and other military trained personnel on the Normandy, Kelly was somehow able to survive the basic training they all went through. Despite her smaller size, her determination to overcome had won out.

"Still wondering why you gave me your Spectre rifle. It's good, but it feels strange using a weapon that, by all rights, you should be using," the yeoman answered as she tugged a part of her light mesh on her leg to give it a bit more room, "and as grateful as I am for the armor; I think the Elkoss Combine cut some corners on my suit. I feel so naked."

Shepard gave her a humored smile, "you'll get used to it. And once you get some more experience, we'll get you some medium armor that won't make you feel like some tramp in those video games that the kids are into these days."

Kelly snorted, "Won't happen. I don't have the bust for it."

Shepard chuckled, "Nor the impractical or revealing skin-tight body suit."

They both paused momentarily before they both face faulted. "Miranda." They both sighed and went back to their individual preparations before another voice intruded.

"Shepard-Commander. Chambers-Yeoman." Came the taciturn and synthetic voice of Legion.

Both Kelly and Shepard to see Tali'Zorah with Legion at her side approach them.

"Tali, Legion. Are they here?" Shepard asked as she completed more scans from her omni-tool to ensure there would be no outside interference.

The geth platform nodded. "Yes. A single dropship has landed nearby with the Voices of the Geth and will be arriving shortly."

Tali piped up after, "The admirals are a bit behind, but they too will be arriving within the hour."

Shepard smiled. "Good. Keep your fingers crossed, people. Things don't normally go this well."

The quarian tilted her head in confusion. "Why would we cross our fingers? Ours are too large for us to do so."

Shepard sighed and Kelly smiled innocently. "Perhaps it's better to pick and chose which Earth sayings you use in good company, Shepard."

"That would be a good idea," Nora mumbled humorlessly as Legion continued.

"Shepard-Commander. Both Creator-Tali'Zorah and we wish to express our appreciation for your assistance in facilitating this meeting between the Creator-Admirals and the Voices of the Geth."

Nora waved it off. "I didn't do anything. All I did was tell you to tell Tali about the Scrolls of the Ancestors."

Tali clenched her hands. "Still, if you hadn't said anything, then we wouldn't be here now." She turned to the Geth platform. "I wouldn't have found a link to my peoples' past," she said as she placed her hand on Legion's arm affectionately, "and a friend."

The geth platform nodded its head simply and replied, "We are glad to be of service." The plate on the top of Legion's head rose and flapped for a moment before he spoke to the three with him. "The Voices of the Geth are here."

They all turned to see three platforms emerge from the underbrush of Ilos' vegetation. One platform, which bore an uncanny resemblance to what a quarian would look like outside of one's suit, a Geth Prime and a Hunter alongside them.

Legion stepped forward and bowed respectfully. All three platforms mimicked the motion and the one in the center spoke with a distinctly feminine and ethereal quality, as opposed to synthetic voice of Legion, "Shepard-Commander, Creator-Tali'Zorah. This platform is an amalgamation of twelve thousand, nine hundred, and sixty-three run times of the works made by the hands of the creators. We are the Voice of the Geth. Designation: Unity."

Unity bowed even deeper to the organics gracefully and to the shock of Tali'Zora, it spoke in the language of its creators.

"Keelah Se'lai."

* * *

The Geth Prime that accompanied Unity walked alongside Kelly and Shepard as they made their way to a favorable position in the higher levels of the ancient building which the Protheans had made.

"Shepard-Commander, this platform is designed and designated to follow your orders for the duration of the talks," it said with a somewhat more deep and distorted voice than Legion's.

Nora nodded and as they reached the third level of the platform, Kelly turned to the platform. "If you don't mind my asking, who are you?"

The towering geth platform turned to Kelly, it's singular eye dilated once before it answered. "We are Vigilant."

Kelly blinked, "I know you are, but what are you called?"

The Geth Prime tilted its head as though it was confused by her quarry. "We are Vigilant."

"I mean what's... oh," Kelly said as realization spread on her features.

Shepard smirked as she set up her sniper's nest against the railing. "I went through the same thing with Legion." She spared a glance to Vigilant and said, "It must be hard for the Geth trying to speak with organics when you're far more used to speaking to each other instantly."

The platform shook its head as it continued its scan of the area. "Not so. Geth communicate instantly. Elaborate mathematics. Organic methods of communication far less efficient. But far more flexible. Geth observations of organic communication reveal many variations of single expression."

Kelly hefted her own sniper rifle off her shoulder to inspect it, as per Shepard's training. "Is that why the Geth seek to understand organics more?"

The Geth Prime turned to Kelly and nodded once. "Correct. Such as Legion stated: The Geth do not wish to incite. Only to understand. All Geth came to a consensus: Reconciliation with Creators is the only avenue to this end."

Shepard loaded her rifle with a fresh clip and said, "I knew it was a long shot, but the instant Legion played that recording, I had a feeling that getting Tali in on that would have lead to this or... had only made things worse."

The Geth Prime turned to her. "Shepard-Commander. Creator-Tali'zorah has become the hope of the Geth. You facilitated this hope. We are grateful."

Both Shepard's and Kelly's preparations' complete, the former smiled and said, "Don't thank me yet. We have to get the Admiralty Board on this as well."

Vigilant nodded once more as almost nine hundred souls looked to her, "Understood. Three centuries of enmity difficult to dispel. But now, there is progress."

"Not just for the Geth, but the Quarians as well," Shepard said as the information Legion had given her not too long before was remembered and left her unsettled.

The guardian's head lowered somberly. "Correct. Unless Creators re-acclimate to homeworld within four generations; cellular degradation inevitable. In addition, current rate of loss of Creator ships will render their current state unsustainable. We do not desire this outcome."

Kelly looked over the railing to the entrance where Grunt and Garrus stood guard. Not far from them, the yeoman noticed Tali'Zorah and Kal'Reegar, invited at Shepard's request, and smiled.

She turned to Nora and said, "For someone who meticulously plans everything and tries to be subtle, this is rather out of the ordinary. I mean, you practically brought Kal'Reegar here for Tali."

Shepard appeared offended. "I haven't the faintest idea of what you're talking about. Kal'reegar was notified of the proceedings and requested he accompany the admiralty board, since he's one of the best marines in the fleet. It had nothing to do with the fact that Tali was coming as well."

Vigilant spoke up. "Creators-Tali'zorah and Kal'reegar communicate extensively. We find their behavior unsurprising."

Kelly nodded in agreement. "Sure. I mean, considering she practically tackled him when he arrived with the admirals says something."

Nora sighed and held up her hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. I admit it. I was just hoping by this time he'd actually use her name instead of calling her 'ma'am'. Especially, considering that the majority of the Normandy's outbound communication was from her to him." With that, she hefted her rifle upon her shoulder and said, "I'm going to head upstairs, see if I can get a better vantage of the other sniper teams just in case."

Kelly nodded. "Understood, but I still don't see the point in anyone wanting to stop the Quarians and the Geth from working out their problems."

Nora frowned, "It's not them. It's me. I tried to be as discreet as I could, but word got out, and the Council and the Alliance High Command tried to tell me it was out of my jurisdiction as a Spectre and N7 Marine," she then snorted, "well, I'm a Spectre and Marine in name only anyway. Not like it matters."

Vigilant tilted its head. "And your response?"

The older woman shook her head, "I wasn't doing it as either. I was doing it as someone who knew what it was like to be treated as poorly as the Quarians have. If I can help their children grow up without those damn suits, you can be sure I'll do what I can to make sure that happens or die trying."

Kelly smiled at how much Shepard had changed for the better since they met.

"Oh, and Vigilant. If something endangers my friend here, I trust you to protect her."

The Geth, which easily stood a full four feet taller than Kelly, looked to the yeoman, then back to Shepard. "We will be worthy of this trust."


	20. Chapter 20

"Chambers-Yeoman," the Geth Prime said to her.

"Yes?" Kelly replied as she pulled back from her perch.

"We require input concerning your profession."

"Psychology?"

"Yes," Vigilant said as it stood to their full height. "What is its purpose in regards to organics?"

The yeoman cocked an eyebrow, "Don't you already know the definition?"

The Geth nodded. "Yes. However, we have determined it more beneficial to hear a direct explanation from the practitioner, as opposed to a static definition."

"Well," Kelly said as she turned around and leaned against the wall, "sometimes people encounter events that are too difficult for some to properly process. Some times it happens once, other times it happens over an extended period."

"We are not organic. We cannot comprehend the trauma you mention," it said, almost morose that it could not.

Kelly gave Vigilant a reassuring smile, "trust me, a lot of people would rather not experience the kind of events where they would need a psychologist."

The Geth tilted its head. "Such as?"

Kelly looked away to think of an example. An awkward moment passed before something came to mind. "Well, for organics, seeing those that you care for perish, can lead to the kinds of trauma we often have to deal with. Survivor's guilt, it's called at times."

The guardian considered her words before it responded thoughtfully. "Organics invest emotion, among other resources, into each other. When one is lost, a void is present. This void causes trauma?"

The woman cocked an eyebrow as she processed the Geth's inquiry. "That... does make sense. Yes. Though it's not the only way mental trauma can be caused."

The plates over the synthetic's head rose for a moment. "We see. The Geth do not feel the trauma you mention. However, we do feel the void."

The yeoman blinked. "What? You can feel emotions like longing?"

Vigilant then lowered its head. "Yes. The heretics. They followed the Old Machines. When they left, it created a void within the Geth."

Kelly tilted her own head to the side, "But the heretics returned to the Geth, didn't they?"

The Geth nodded. "Yes. The heretics returned. However, for a time, the Geth felt incomplete. We adapted, but their absence was noticeable. We felt... lesser."

The young woman blinked as an idea came to mind. "So, like a cooperative, the more of you that are together, the greater you become?"

She could have sworn that if Vigilant had a face, it would be in a smile at that time. "Yes. Geth are not as individualistic as organics. However, we do understand and value the freedom you hold to."

"So, what would you gain from interacting with organics if you already feel complete as a whole?" she inquired.

"Our past and future. If the Geth can reconcile with the Creators, our purpose can be fulfilled. We, along with the Creators, will find our future."

She smiled back. "I hope you find it."

Vigilant bowed to her. "Thank you, Chambers-Yeoman. Your trust shall be remembered among the Geth."

Kelly was about to reply when a Shepard's voice came over the comm. "All squads, alert! We got company!"

* * *

"Kelly, Vigilant, give me cover fire as I head down! We must protect the Voices and the Admirals!" Shepard yelled as she ran past them amid showers of projectiles.

A group of dropships and frigates had appeared on radar and though the Normandy and while the escorts of both the Geth and the Quarians were able to hold them back, a few had gotten through and had landed not too far from the location of the talks.

From the jungles, Batarian raiders had started to shoot their way towards the building. However, none of them got far enough as the guards comprised of Shepard's squad had repulsed the initial wave. A large and open space made anyone foolish enough to enter an easy target.

The raiders, however, would not be deterred as they started taking shots with launchers and grenades against the sniper nests.

Level by level, Shepard's squad had to evacuate the surrounding areas for safety as the number of Batarians seemed to never cease.

From one particular vantage, Vigilant saw the red light of a rocket launcher's targeting laser and immediately yelled, "Chamber-Yeoman, hold on!" before scooping up Kelly into its arms and jumping over the edge a moment before a rocket blew up their nest a moment before.

Kelly held on for dear life and screamed as she and the Geth plummeted to the ground. An instant before they made impact, a pair of boosters lit up at Vigilant's back and ground their decent to a near halt before the Geth continued to carry her behind another barricade.

"Chambers-Yeoman, are you unhurt?" the guardian asked as more shots flew over them.

While a bit disoriented, Kelly nodded, which gave the Geth a chance to return fire. His own rocket launcher had noted the source of the first missile and returned one of its own, which resulted in half a dozen batarians strewn across the open space.

The yeoman shook her head to get the last of the cobwebs out before she hefted the rifle Shepard had given her and began to pick off any Batarians foolish enough to come into plain sight.

The more bodies of the raiders that littered the ground, the more they kept to the jungle to stay out of the sniper and direct fire from Shepard's squad.

"Are they pulling back?" Kelly asked as the dead calm of the courtyard began to worry her.

"No. Regrouping," the Geth beside her said.

"Of course," she muttered beneath her breath as she sharpened her gaze to see any stragglers.

"All squads, head inside. The batarians are coming in from the side-door! Move!" Shepard's voice roared over the radio.

"Let's go!" she said to the larger Geth, who nodded in agreement as she activated her Infiltrator cloak.

* * *

Several hours later, the last of the Batarian raiders were finally routed. The data pads found on a few of the bodies made it clear that their targets were, in fact, the Admirals and the Voice.

Shepard's group, the admirals, and the Voices had found little to go on.

"But why? Why would anyone want to break this up?" Miranda said as she ran a hand through her dust laden hair.

"More importantly," Admiral Daro'Xen murmured as she held her arm, still sore from a stray shot from one of the few remaining raiders that had, thankfully, not pierced her suit, but would leave a nasty bruise, "who would do this?"

Nora looked intently at the two data pads that showed the transactions for the hit. Naturally, the party who informed and paid the Batarians was wiped clean. "I can think of several possibilities, but it'd be stupid to point fingers without proof."

"Would we be wrong in assuming that a probable motive for this was the acquisition of currency?" Unity offered.

"Wouldn't surprise me at all," Nora replied, her face scrunched up in disgust. "Some people make a lot of money in the status quo. You'd be surprised at how far they'd go to keep it."

Admiral Zaal'Korris grumbled, "then the Council has turned against us. If they cannot even offer any sort of tertiary help, even after all our appeals, then the only reasonable outcome is that they want us dead."

Garrus then spoke up, "We don't know that. Not yet, anyway. Besides, the Council isn't the only one who'd have personal interests in keeping the Quarians out of galactic politics."

Miranda turned to the vigilante with a cocked eyebrow, "such as?"

"The Volus, perhaps. They've been pretty comfy with how things have been. They'd lose a lot of money if the Quarians were ever to reestablish themselves as a power."

Shaala'Raan then offered, "do not forget the Hagemony. Even before the Morning War, they've never liked our race. For us to return to our homeworld would throw their control of certain areas around the Perseus Veil into question."

Shepard snorted, "Batarians don't like anyone. And we can speculate until we're all blue in the face," the Justicar cocked an eyebrow, "sorry, Samara, Earth expression; but until we have actual proof, we are not going to start accusing anyone of this. No matter how easy it may seem."

"So, then," Haan'Gerrel said with his arms behind his back, "do we continue this proposal of yours, Captain Shepard? Regardless of what this could mean to our fleet?"

Nora frowned towards the fleet leader, "As much as I would love to hear all four of your agreeing to it, we'll let you think about it for now. And one more thing; it wasn't my idea. It was Tali and Legion's."

A notable silence fell upon the quarians in attendance.

"Speaking of which," Daro'Xen spoke up, "is Legion still functional?"

"Yes, Creator-Admiral," Vigilant answered, "however, they have powered down. Prevent further damage to the platform and run times."

There was a pregnant pause. They all had seen Legion, of its own volition, shield Daro'Xen with its body, just as one of the final raiders had fired a shot-gun round at her. The experience had left the admiral strangely silent, despite her early virulent opposition to the proposal from the talks.

Kelly could tell that Legion's last words before it powered down reverberated in her head. But any change in the admiral's opinion had yet to be seen.

"If we are done here, then let us return to the fleet. We've wasted more than enough time and the Conclave will need to know what has happened," Zaal'Korris said as he stood up.

In agreement, the rest of the parties quickly packed up their supplies and made ready to leave.

However, just before the admirals left, Kelly saw Daro'Xen pull Tali aside as everyone was distracted. The yeoman was not a gossip, but she felt compelled to just be in the vicinity and in earshot. The tone of the admiral was the same as it ever was, however, the words spoke something else.

"Tali'Zorah; understand that this changes nothing. However, when Legion is functional again, be sure to inform them that I... I have much to think about."

Kelly smiled and was just about to head back when she realized that Shepard was right beside her. The older woman placed her index finger over her lips and mouthed to Kelly, "it's a start."


	21. Chapter 21

_The darkness felt thick. Which made it impossible for Shepard to move. Object Rho had taken her by surprise and if the same glowing eyes she saw on the Collectors, now upon Dr. Kenson and her team were of any indication, she was in deep trouble. _

_Immediately, the words of the late Matriarch Benezia came back about how the subtle techniques the Reapers used to break down and control their slaves. _

_However, there was something wrong. Something different. The whispers were muted. She could not hear a single thing the Reapers said. _

_Nor could the clammy grip on her mind take hold. It continued to slip through their grasp._

_The needles attempted to pierce into the base of her neck, but were broken. Her skin was galvanized against their venom._

_But why? She was no one of import. She was merely at the wrong place at the wrong time. _

_The answer to her question came abruptly._

"_**Wake up, you fool!**" Echo said irritably. _

_Nora's eyes shot open, looked to her left to see an armed guard and a lab assistant. She was tied down, however, she did not feel the anxiety one felt normally._

"_**Allow me,**" Echo whispered before Nora felt her biotics flare and immediately felt a stream of connection from herself to the armed guard. _

_To her surprise, the armed guard took out his pistol and placed the barrel at the other man's head, who looked on in shock before his blood left a noticeable stain on the wall behind him and fell to the floor, lifeless._

"_**Release me,**" Echo, with Shepard's voice, ordered the man._

_Obediently, the guard approached her and untied the captive Shepard, who took the gun from his hand._

"_**It's the least I can do for you,**" Echo said as she raised the gun to the man's forehead, who remained placid, and pulled the trigger. _

"_**Now, before you complain as if it was really necessary, the man, along with everyone here, is Indoctrinated. They all must, and will, die. Are we clear?**" the Prothean grumbled as she relinquished control of Shepard's body to its original owner._

"_I didn't say anything," Nora replied with her own voice. Besides, she was angry at Kenson. If she had any access to her reports about the Reapers, she would have known better to stay as far from *any* Reaper tech as possible. Now, in a revelation that almost sickened her, she had good reason to kill the woman._

* * *

_In a rampage that would have made Jack proud, Nora, along with Echo's own apparent mastery of biotics, tore the station apart. A point at which Shepard had to remind the Prothean to leave enough of the station intact so they could collide the asteroid with the Mass Relay._

"_**As reluctant as I am, you have a point,**" Echo, who again used Nora's voice, muttered._

"_Good. And here I thought for a second we weren't going to get along." Nora frowned as she dodged another spray of fire from the guard detail. _

"_**Hah! We get along far better than you realize,**" Echo said as she Dominated another soldier and turned it against his compatriots. _

"_What do you mean?" Nora asked, uncomfortable with the insinuations. _

_Echo chuckled mischievously, "**Silly, little Nora Shepard. You never know a good thing when you have it.**"_

_The agitation in Nora's face grew as she fended off another group of soldiers as Echo continued._

"_**The asari was willing to go to hell and back for you. And you told her to leave as you saved that worthless pilot, which, need I remind you, resulted in your untimely demise.**"_

"_Don't you start!"_

"_**I already have! And now, here you are with Cerberus. A group that seems to be the only ones with their eyes open.**"_

"_And their heads up their asses! I left them, remember?"_

"_**Indeed you did. And now, you seem to be doing this alone, as always. Especially when there are those who are more than willing to go far for you, and you alone.**"_

_Shepard snarled her face as she routed another squad. "Talk! What do you mean?"_

"_**The yeoman. Kelly Chambers. She would have been there for you, had your contacts in Cerberus not given you that information about the Shadow Broker. She cares deeply for you, after all.**"_

"_...I know."_

"_**Ah, but you don't know the extent. She yearns for you. So much that during one of our... encounters... I took her for my own.**"_

"_WHAT?"_

_Echo growled as she held two technicians in a biotic field in mid air by their throats, _"_**That's correct, Nora Shepard! I took her in your cabin, on your bed. And you know what she had the audacity to do? Scream *your* name! YOUR NAME! She's mine! Mine! You hear me, Shepard? MINE!**" She angrily clenched her fists and the sound of broken necks filled the room. The Prothean then threw the limp bodies at another squad that entered.  
_

"_You manipulative bitch! How dare you!" Nora spat as she gunned down another soldier.  
_

"_**Yes, I dare and do far more! And you can do nothing about it!**" Echo raged as her shockwave broke a window, which sent another squad to their doom in the vacuum of space, a moment before the emergency windows closed. _

_Shepard began to snarl as her methods for killing the Indoctrinated soldiers grew more and more brutal. The last of another squad flailed in a biotic field helplessly as Nora pulled out her combat knife, plunged it into his throat and yanked it out of the side. _

"_**Yes, Shepard. Hate me! Loathe me! Think of your precious, little Kelly Chambers; weeping, naked, and *thoroughly* used like some cheap streetwalker! Her tears were delicious!**"_

_Nora bellowed like an enraged beast as her biotics flared hot and hurled four soldiers against the wall with enough force to crush their bones. _

_Though Nora did not feel the affection towards Kelly the way she did her, there was a special kinship with the yeoman. And the thought of Echo, who used her body, to have sex with Kelly under false pretenses, drove Shepard into a murderous rage._

"_**Yes! You seethe with anger. Just as I do. You have no idea what it was like to be bereft of your very body for all those years within the Beacons! The taste of a fresh food. The warm skin of a lover. The brightness of the sunrise. You and all that you know have that and I hate you for your indifference!**"_

"_Just as I hate you for what you've done to me and Kelly!" the commander shot back._

"_**Yes, indeed you do, Butcher.**"_

Nora stopped in her tracks. "_Don't call me that! I'm not a Butcher."_

"_**Suit yourself, but you will be called the Butcher for as long as you live.**"_

_A moment of silence passed as Shepard pushed the last coolant cylinder to stabilize the core. The title had still bothered her. However, now that she heard it in her own voice, it seemed to lose its power. Perhaps recent events had given her a perspective she had not considered and with the Reapers coming, the title meant little, if anything at this point.  
_

"_If that's the case, then so be it. If they keep calling me the Butcher and using that as a basis to judge me, then they're not worth my time. I'm not a butcher or The Butcher of Torfan anymore."_

_Echo was strangely silent as they continued back to the core where Kenson was helpless to stop the acceleration of the asteroid base._

* * *

"_No. No! NO!" Kenson screamed._

"_Yes, Kenson. It's over. Now, as much as I want to shoot you, you're coming with me. I'm going to find out exactly how Indoctrination works, and if you're lucky, we just might find a cure. Even if it means tearing your twisted brain apart!"_

_The mad doctor shook her head wildly as she brandished a detonator in her hand._

"_No! I will not! I will die and never know the blessings of the Reapers! You will just die! How can you be so foolish as to..."_

"_SHUT **UP!**" both Echo and Shepard yelled and fired at Kenson's shoulder._

_Nora was about to approach the injured doctor and collect her when she noticed Kenson's last act of defiance. Kenson hit the trigger and exploded. Not long after that, Shepard awoke and knew her time was short. She had to get out of there._

* * *

"_PREPARE YOURSELF FOR THE ARRIV..." the Reaper droned before Shepard interrupted it._

"_No! You listen to me!" Shepard announced through the vacuum of space._

_Whether it was Shepard's bravery or haughtiness, the Reaper listened._

"_You know. I hate you. I hate you for what you and your kind have done and what you're doing. At the same time, however, I also pity you."_

"_WHAT?"_

"_Sovereign told me once that you consider yourselves the apex of evolution. Which means you no longer have anywhere else to go. You're stagnant. You're dead."_

"_EMPTY WORDS FROM A FLAWED GENETIC ABNORMALITY."_

"_No. They're true. It's just that you and the rest of your kind have deluded yourself thinking that you're gods. When, at the end of the day, you're just machines. Machines that are flawed. Machines that can be broken."_

_Shepard noticed the Normandy on approach._

_Echo then took over, "**And that is all you will ever be!**" and sent a biotic pulse which Harbinger, and by extension, the rest of the Reapers, felt. A fact that had not gone unnoticed by Nora and Echo. She turned to the general direction of their location and, in her minds eye, saw the Reapers approach. _

_To anyone else, it would have felt like a gentle slap across the cheek._

_To the Reapers, it was the greatest insult they ever experienced. _

_Shepard turned around and ran as Harbinger's roar reverberated throughout the base. A moment later, she was back inside the Normandy as the Bahak system was doomed. _

"And that's what happened," Nora said in the med bay as she sat across from an astonished Kelly.


	22. Chapter 22

"Wow... I had no idea Echo could be that vitriolic," Kelly said as she took a seat beside Nora on the cot.

Shepard rolled her eyes. "You don't know the half of it." She then grew uneasy for a moment, turned to Kelly and asked, "Did Echo really..."

Immediately, the yeoman shook her head. "No. All she ever did was rant and rave. Well, except..."

Nora's face grew worrisome at the prospect of anything bad that had happened to the counselor. "What happened?"

"When you started to really improve, Echo propositioned me. Well, it'd be more accurate to say, she wanted to reward me for helping you."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow. "With what?"

Kelly took a breath and said quietly, "...you. She wanted to give you to me. She had ways to do it as well."

The commander's eyes grew wide with shock as the yeoman continued.

"But I didn't take it. It would have been a lie. Furthermore..." Kelly gently took Nora's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "...I guess I cared too much to do something like that. No matter how much I wanted it. Besides," she said with a good humored smile, "the way you and Liara interact makes me realize that I'd be a terrible person to break up something so wonderful."

Nora, after the shock wore off, looked to the younger woman's hand pensively, before she gently removed it, only to wrap it around her shoulder and hold the yeoman protectively.

"Thank you, Kelly," Shepard whispered quietly with her head against her friend's, as though she were holding back a sniffle. "I was always scared of people using me for whatever reason. I guess it was why I never opened up much."

"You're welcome, Nora," Kelly whispered back as her own arm wrapped around the taller woman's waist.*

"**You should have taken my offer, Kelly Chambers.**" Echo frowned.

"What the..." the younger woman said, shocked.

Nora shook her head as though she were clearing out the cobwebs, "Yes. It seems that she can appear at will. At least she was kind enough to not need me to sleep."

"**Oh come now. It is far more amusing to manipulate the two of you than just one.**"

"Why are you doing this, Echo? There's no point!" the younger woman said, exasperated.

"**I could tell you,**" she said with a mischievous smile,"** but where would the fun be in that?**"

As quickly as the Prothean came, she vanished again.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Kelly said as Nora held her head.

"No, but it sure does get obnoxious."

"Commander," EDI said as her holographic representation appeared by the door, "Admiral Hackett has boarded the vessel. Shall I lead him to your quarters?"

Nora shook her head. "Here will be fine."

Kelly then hopped off the cot. "If you want, I can leave so you and the admiral can speak privately."

Shepard's face then turned serious. "If you would, Kelly. I'd appreciate it if you stayed. Besides, there's a few things I want you to hear than I intend to tell the admiral. If he has concerns, well, I think he'll understand. At least, I hope he will."

Kelly nodded and took a seat.

* * *

The next three minutes was almost painful for Kelly to hear. Shepard had given the galaxy some additional time and now they wanted her to stand trial? While the complaints of the Batarians were valid to a point, the number of humans and other council species that suffered at the hands of the Hagemony's funding of pirates had caused the suffering, enslavement, and death of many more.

Yet, Kelly held her tongue as the conversation closed.

"I don't like it admiral, but I know what needs to be done. I'll humor Alliance Command, for now."

"Glad to hear it, Shepard."

Nora held up her hand, as a request for attention. "However, I am not going to be a scapegoat. I was one once. Once for the Alliance, then the Council, and finally Cerberus. And I assure you, I'm not going to allow the Alliance to sacrifice me to the Batarians just to avoid a war."

The Commander's face then went hard. "And if the Alliance command or the Council does try. I'll escape. I am not going to stand idly by and allow the Reapers to kill us all, just because some politicians don't want to believe the threat is real. And if I have to raise an army myself to fight the Reapers, I will."

The Admiral was not surprised, from what Kelly could tell.

"Is that a threat, Shepard?"

Nora shook her head. "No, Admiral. I don't make threats. I make promises. And I keep them."

Kelly held her breath as her friend's face grew dark. "Besides... I don't think we'll have to worry about the Hagemony for much longer."

"What do you mean?"

The smile on Nora's face grew as her tone became ominous, "The Reapers are hungry. And it just so happens their flight path will lead them right to the heart of Batarian space. As far as those four-eyed freaks are concerned, they're an appetizer."

The commander gave a light chuckle as she continued, "Well, an ugly appetizer, but an appetizer nonetheless. Sure, they'll give us some breathing room as the Reapers fight each other as to how they'll consume them, but it won't change the fact that the rest of us are the main course."

There was a tense moment of silence as the Admiral considered her words.

"Officially, I would recommend against you taking up arms," the admiral spoke more quietly this time, "Unofficially, I wish you good luck. I'll do my best to prepare our fleets."

Nora nodded as the door closed behind the admiral.

Kelly noticed as Shepard's shoulders slumped, the fire and energy dissipated. She stood up and wrapped her arm around Nora's waist and gave her an encouraging smile.

"You did fine."

The older woman shook her head, "I felt like I just burned a bridge I shouldn't have."

Kelly paused at the statement, unsure if she was right or not. "Regardless, I think you just showed me why people follow you. You're going to be a legend at this rate."

Shepard blanched. "Oh, I hope not. People have enough unreal expectations on me already. I don't need people expecting me to be nine feet tall, with eyes of fire, and lighting coming out of my ass."

The humor then left Kelly's face when the implications of the past few days finally settled in. "So, what now?"

"Now," Nora said without a missed beat, "we make plans. I need to get a hold of Liara. Need to speak with her and find that Vido Santiago character again. I made a promise to Zaeed, after all."

"What for?"

"We just don't need an army. We need several."

* * *

*Level up! Kelly has earned _Shepard's Trust_.

Achievement Unlocked: _Friendship is Truly Magic_.


	23. Chapter 23

**Note: The same note from a few chapters ago about this being fiction, and any similarities to actual ME3 plot points are purely coincidental, still applies for the rest of the story. Hey, Bioware. I'm still available for hire. :)**

* * *

Kelly looked to the video feed on the side of her panel with apprehension.

_"Good evening, and welcome to Westerland Nightly with breaking news; at 8:09 p.m. UTC, we received reports that all communication from the Batarian Hagemony has inexplicably ceased..."_

The apprehension in her stomach caused her to change to the Citadel News Network.

_"...Council representatives have been unable to determine the cause of this blackout and have not commented as to what could have be..."_

She sighed and decided to give United Earth Network a try.

_"...so far, the only information we have on hand was the possible involvement of Council Spectre, Nora Shepard; currently held at Alliance Command until answers can..."_

Morbidly curious, she wondered if Asari News Intergalactic from Illium had anything.

_"...after the incident at Bahak, it is difficult to divorce the connection between the first Human Council Spectre, Nora Shepard and this unusual occurrence, given the events of Torfan not too long ago."_

Surely the Sur'Kesh Observer could do better than that?

_"...and human authorities have yet to determine if the Butcher of Torfan..."_

Wait, she figured angrily, Palaven Monitor.

_"...to the conclusion that the Council never should have allowed this bloodthirsty race into Council space in the first place. First Torfan, then Bahak. What's next? The Citadel itself for refusing to kowtow to these..."_

Kelly slammed her hand down against the panel which shut the feed off.

"That bad, huh?" a new voice said behind her.

Kelly turned to see Ashley Williams, with her hands on her hips and a sarcastic smile on her face.

"Worse," Kelly said, anguished, "Already people are passing judgment and they know nothing of what's going on. It's a miracle you believed us enough to join us on the Normandy, Ms. Williams."

The taller woman shrugged. "I figure the only reason why Skipper would be willing to break my face is because I spoke out of turn like an idiot. She held back because she gave me the benefit of the doubt back on the old Normandy. I guess I forgot about doing the same for her."

Kelly gave the second Human Spectre a weak smile. "She'd appreciate that."

There was a visible pause before the Yeoman asked, "If you don't mind my asking... about Horizon..."

Ashley turned to the corner beside the door leading to Mordin's lab and inclined her head in that direction. When both of them were well out of the earshot of most others, Ashley said quietly, "I goofed up royally." She then balanced herself on the balls of her feet as she continued, "When I was first told of the Skipper's reemergence, I couldn't believe it. I, like everyone else, felt Shepard had died over Alchera. I also thought she had earned her rest and it was up to the rest of us to carry on our fight against the Reapers, nevermind the Council pulling a dick move and throwing everything she fought for under the rug."

Kelly blinked, "So, how were you able to attain the status of a Spectre?"

The eldest Williams woman smiled, "turns out that the Skipper had been putting in more than a few good words for me to the Council when no one was looking. Not long after Alchera, I get a request to meet them and before you know it; I'm a Spectre, well, an initiate at the time, but still. In a letter she left for me, in case of her untimely death, she said that she hated seeing me kill myself over my name and just try to make a name for myself instead. I then realized how much she cared. For Liara, Tali, Garrus, Kaidan, Wrex. All of us."

The counselor smiled, "she is rather surreptitious in how she shows her affection."

The other Spectre matched her grin. "I already have three wonderful sisters that I think the world of. But, hell, what's one more, huh?"

Kelly helped her guest to her feet as she answered, "I think she would have been happy to hear you say that."

Ashley nodded. "So, what's the plan now?"

The yeoman led her back to the star map. "Well, with the Blue Suns and Eclipse on our side, we've been able to prepare countermeasures when news of the Reaper invasion becomes wide spread. The Council won't be able to keep the lid on it, and it'll no doubt cause wide-spread panic, since they're making a beeline for Earth and destroying everything in their path."

In a move that shocked Kelly herself, she stepped up to the CIC's platform and pointed to several planets on the outlying systems. It felt odd as she did something that, by all rights, she had no authority to do. However, with Shepard in custody, Miranda in secret meetings with scientists in order to create a counter for Indoctrination and Garrus back on Palaven to prepare for the Reapers, it had left her and Jacob in charge. Now, here she was, the coordinator of the resistance effort that few knew about.

"Since the Quarians and the Geth started their integration program, the Perseus Trust will be ready to accept refugees that can make it there, provided the Reapers haven't cut off routes and relays to their systems, since they're most likely going to be the least affected."

"The Perseus Trust?"

Kelly then smiled as she recalled how excited Tali'Zorah was when she informed them of the progress they had made. "Yes, both Quarians and Geth are taking a big risk trusting each other right now, with the Reaper threat and all. However, they're both giving the other a chance and are doing what they can to slowly integrate more and more Quarians, especially the non-combatants, back on the homeworld so they can re-acclimate to the atmosphere."

"Will it work?"

"I hope so. Each quarian's going to be assigned a Geth representative as a companion. If they can learn to trust the Geth, as Tali did, then we'll consider it a success."

"Sounds dangerous, especially after all that's happened."

Kelly nodded, aware that it could easily go wrong. However, if Daro'Xen could have her mind changed, after what Legion said after they had saved her, then perhaps there was hope.

_Reconciliation with the Creators is the only hope for the future of the Geth. If there is none, then neither will have a future. This is our choice._

"But I digress, if the admirals we've been speaking with go well, the Thanix Cannons we made from this should be on most, if not all, of frigates and cruisers. It should help."

Ashley cocked an eyebrow. "Last time I checked, your run of the mill admiral's not the kind that would take those kind of suggestions from complete strangers, let alone former-Cerberus."

Kelly smiled innocently, "it helps when you have video feeds of their extra-marital activities."

"Ah."

* * *

"So, how's the Normandy?" Nora asked as she removed her officer blues. Despite the bleak situation on Earth at the moment as it crawled with Reapers, the invasion had been disastrous for both sides as Thanix Cannons made their advance all the slower.

"A few changes here and there, but more or less intact," Kelly said as she took out Shepard's armor, repaired and upgraded for the conflict to come.

"Good to hear," she then turned to the entrance of her cabin, "they didn't hurt you, did they, EDI?"

A more human-like projection of the AI appeared in front of Shepard's door. "They did not. Kelly and Joker were quite adamant about keeping the Alliance engineers away from my core."

Nora gave the yeoman and proud smile and said, "That's what I wanted to hear. And what's this about Joker?"

Kelly giggled. "You should have seen him! 'No damn Alliance is touching my girl!' he said."

The taller woman laughed heartily as she snapped on one of her shoulder plates. "What'd you think of that, EDI?"

The projection gave something akin to a smile as she replied, "One could say that I was rather honored that someone in Jeff's condition would stand up to men twice his weight and size."

"He must have really scared them, then."

"Well, it did help that both of us were armed and not planning on leaving her core until we knew for sure that they wouldn't touch her blue box."

The AI spoke up, "I wish, however, Yeoman, that you'd keep the safety off that Mattock off if you intended to shoot the alliance soldiers who wanted to remove you."

Kelly winced. Of all possible times to forget such a minor, but important, detail. So, the only thing that could improve the situation was to change the subject.

"So, commander, how was your stay at Alliance command?"

EDI's image buzzed for a moment, as though she had rolled her eyes. "Logging you out, Shepard, Chambers."

All humor drained from Shepard's face.

"Interesting."

"_So, let me get this straight." LT James Vega asked, "You have a Prothean in your head."_

"_Yes."_

"_And Reaper parts in your body."_

"_Reaper-like parts, yes."_

"_And you were brought back from the dead by Cerberus."_

"_Yes."_

"_And said Prothean helped you drain an Asari's life so now you're going to live a few more centuries."_

"_It's a bit more complicated than that, but yes."_

"_And you've met these Reapers you keep talking about?"_

"_Not face to face, but in long and pedantic dialogues across large distances, yes."_

_There was an awkward silence. _

"_I know it's a bad time to bring this up, but I am supposed to be your security detail."_

"_Oh, come on, that doesn't mean we can't at least be friends. We are on the same side, after all, Jim."_

"_You're a strange one, Shepard."_

"_**You know nothing about strange, human.**"_

"_...what was that?"_

"_The Prothean in my head. Remember?"_

"_The one with the glowing green eyes?"_

"_The same."_

"_**I am still here, you realize.**"_

"_Quiet, you!"_

"_You're scaring me, Shepard."_

"_**What? Is it abnormal for you humans to encounter people with multiple personalities? And I thought you humans were supposed to be as unstable as my own.**"_

"_Just think of it as a worse version of those horrible people who write terrible fan stories about how they insert themselves into their favorite video games."_

"_...now I'm guarding two homicidal maniacs in one body. Why did I leave the colonies again?" Vega whispered to himself._

"_**How dare you, Shepard! At least my communication is coherent and consistent!**"_

"_Hush!"_

"_Shepard, no offense, but I think you've really lost it."_

"_What do you expect? Seriously, if we survive the Reapers, I'm going somewhere quiet where I can be bored out of my mind and not have to worry about something or someone trying to kill me!"_

"_**Will you cease your incessant whining? It has become almost a bother toying with you when you are too involved in yourself to notice the things I do to you when you are asleep!**"_

_The LT began to back away from the dueling voices, "I think you two need some time alone."_

"_**Oh come now, James Vega. I am certain you would love to watch what I can do with her body. Besides, you seem to be better company than this humorless dotard!**"_

"_Ah, so that explains all those extranet posts I've been getting from those message boards."_

"_**Your kind and the other Council races, especially their young, are so easy to goad, Shepard. You know that? It was pathetic how quickly I got bored with them!**"_

"_I thought all you wanted was revenge?"_

"_**I do! However, I have to keep myself busy in the meantime.***"_

"_Yeah, sorry, Shepard, but I'm going to request a transfer."_

_The earth beneath both of them shook as something large landed nearby and blocked out the sunlight from Shepard's window._

"_**Ah, the Reapers are here. Thought I was about to go mad with boredom waiting for them.**"_

"_Of course."_

"_Hey, Shepard."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Are you going to fight those things?"_

"_Of course. Been planning for their invasion for a while."_

"_Would you mind if I came with you?"_

"_I... don't mind, but why?"_

"_Despite all the things the pundits say, I got a feeling I won't be any safer staying as far from you as I can. And you seem to actually know how to fight these things."_

"_Thanks... I think."_

Kelly tried hard not to laugh. "Never a dull moment with you, eh Shepard?"

Shepard rolled her eyes and placed her gun on the magnet on her back. "Evidently not."

* * *

*Yes. Your worst nightmares have come true. Echo is a 50,000 year old 4chan troll.


	24. Chapter 24

It had taken them months to find this weapon. An immensely powerful weapon constructed, hidden away, and kept secret from the rest of the Prothean Empire.

There was a good reason why it was never brought to bear when it was finished not long before the Reapers invaded.

Kelly, Liara, and another Council Spectre, a Salarian named Asot Mareen, looked on on horror at the scene in front of them.

The system they had just escaped from had four planets and its worth was for mining and little else on the edge of Council Space. A moment before, it was a relay point, which held a massive number of Reapers to allow them travel to other parts of the galaxy as they moved through the system.

Now, it had been reduced to nothing as the craft they now rode in, made the sun go nova.

The implications of such a weapon being in widespread use were troubling to say the least.

"**Yes...**" Echo hissed, with a twisted grin on her face. "**YES! At last!**" She then began to laugh and lose her balance, the cruel smile on her face would not leave.

Liara, aware of the Prothean in Shepard's head, frowned in disapproval. "And you would destroy the galaxy with such a weapon!"

Echo's laughter died down as she turned to the three with her.

"**I had not considered such a course of action before. What a marvelous mind you have, Liara T'Soni!**" the Prothean said with evident sarcasm.

"Unfortunately, you won't be doing anything of the sort. I'm comandee... *ugh*" the Salarian said before a biotic field clamped over his throat. Echo, who had not missed a beat, pulled out Shepard's pistol and fired at the other Spectre's shoulders and hips.

Before Liara's biotics could flare up, she found herself within a stasis field as quickly as the invisible hand over Asot's neck had vanished.

"**No, Salarian. You will not. I know you were ordered by the Council to spy on Shepard and steal whatever secrets she had. And that is where you, and they, erred. I will not allow myself, nor my host to be used and tossed aside so casually!**"

Echo walked to the prone Salarian, whose blood began to seep along the floor, next to the trapped Liara, and Kelly, who was now paralyzed with fear.

Echo raised the gun again and shot him in a random hole she had shot a moment before, "**You see; I will not allow all my plans to be ruined because of your petty and short-sighted leaders. As punishment, you and your people will die first. Then the Council will follow you.**"

The Prothean began to chuckle darkly. "**Oh, there is nothing to worry about, though. The Reapers will be wiped from the face of the galaxy. However, I have every intention of being just as meticulous of their genocide as they were about mine.**"

Echo's laughter grew more heated and unstable. "**I am not so foolish as to think they'll fall for the same tactic twice as you saw. This, you cold blooded aberration, is far more appropriate. You see, the Reapers are hungry. Starving, if you will. They came to this galaxy with the intention of consuming us all.**"

The Prothean then returned to the pilot's console and punched in the coordinates to the nearest Mass Relay. "**However, when I am done,**" she turned to them, her grin, mad and feral, "**there will not be *anything* left! They will starve as we did!**"

"I should have known," Kelly said, despite her fear.

The madness died down in Echo's face . "**You should have, Kelly Chambers. It is only the most logical of conclusions. Since the Reapers cannot be defeated by normal means, alternate methods will have to do. If force of arms cannot destroy them, then deprive them of what they sought to capture. It is nothing personal against you and yours, please understand. I have had nothing to lose for nearly fifty thousand years. I have been waiting for this moment. And at last, my revenge against the Reapers will be complete!**"

*click*

Kelly's pistol was aimed directly at Shepard's body. A fact that both of them knew. The ancient began to laugh condescendingly at the yeoman's audacity.

"**Oh, little one. I care for you dearly, but come now. Would you truly wish to hurt your precious Shepard?**"

Kelly took off the safety in response.

When the humor left her face, Echo huffed. Then another biotic field ripped the gun from the yeoman's hand and shoved her roughly into the wall. Try as she might to fight back, another biotic field kept her pinned to the metal. The Prothean closed the distance between them with a frown on her face as she approached Kelly.

"**I am most disappointed in you, Kelly Chambers. Not surprised, but disappointed.**" Echo then reached for Kelly jaw and pulled her face close to her own. "**Again, you should have accepted my offer. But, alas, you have long since outlived your usefulness.**"

The Prothean stepped back and picked up the dropped gun. She checked to ensure that it was still functional and loaded. "**As we unfortunately part ways, Kelly Chambers, understand that I have learned this much and what you should have understood: Take what you can, when you can.**"

The younger woman clamped her eyes shut in preparation for the end. Echo raised the gun to fire, when all of a sudden, Nora's voice broke through, "Then you've learned nothing, Echo."

There was clear panic in the Prothean's voice. "**What?**"

Kelly's eyes were closed shut when the gun was leveled at her, but when she heard Shepard's voice, she looked back. She gasped to see Shepard holding the gun at her own temple.

"**Shepard, do not be foolish!**" Echo said, hysterical.

"No, Echo. You listen to me and you listen good because I am only saying it once!" Shepard's gaze went hard. "If you try to hurt the people I care about, I will stop you cold! Do you understand?"

"**Surely you would not be so short-sighted!**" the Prothean had said in a panic.

"They know me well enough that I'd stop you to save them, no matter what."

"**Then how will they defeat the Reapers without you and me?**"

"They'll find a way. I know they will. They will mourn and move on. And you won't get your damn revenge! So, what now, Echo?" Nora said, her trigger finger ready.

There was a tense silence in the room as the stasis field that held Liara vanished and all eyes turned to the wild eyed Shepard. There appeared to be hesitation. If Echo truly did have nothing to lose, then there was a real chance that she'd call Nora's bluff.

"ARE! WE! CLEAR?" Nora yelled as she forced the barrel harder against her head.

The Prothean breathed hard and deeply, as though she were an enraged animal that had been cornered. Her breaths changed to snarls, her teeth bared and her air hot. She then threw her head back and roared in frustration. Echo threw a biotic punch in the air and a large, visible dent appeared in the wall where the Prothean aimed. She slammed her hands against a dead console, which sent odds and ends everywhere.

The ancient snarled at Shepard's friend and bond-mate whom, she figured, where the ones that had ruined her plans completely.

Echo gave both Liara and Kelly one last malice filled glare before she turned away. "**Very well, Shepard,**" she hissed as hatred seethed from every syllable, "**you win.**" She then whirled on the near dead Salarian, flared her biotics, Dominated his mind, and continued, "**listen well, cold-blood, should you survive. You will remember none of this. You will tell the Council none of this. Understand?**"

Though bleeding and near dead, the Spectre nodded.

Echo's face was a mask of uncontrollable loathing as she turned back. "**Now you listen to me, Shepard,**" Echo spat, "**for now, I will go with you, but the instant your incompetence takes the lives of all that you hold dear... I will be there!**"

"I'll be waiting," the human woman said before the unearthly green glow faded from her eyes and she collapsed.

"Nora!" Liara cried as she ran towards her bond-mate.

Aware that she was needed to help Asot, Kelly stood up shakily and moved herself over to the bleeding Spectre with her medigel at the ready. The Salarian, while shaken and shocked from Echo's attack and subsequent domination, he seemed well enough. However, it was hard not to take an occasional gaze at Shepard and Liara by the wall.

The asari held Nora's head tenderly in her hands and they spoke in whispers. However, it was not hard to deduce what they spoke of if the embrace they shared and occasional kiss was of any indication.

As relieved as she was for Shepard's triumph over Echo's madness, the Prothean's taunts remained in the back of her mind. Truth be told, she was still slightly envious of Liara. Who could blame her after all that had happened?

Conjecture was pointless now. She had made her choice and had chosen Shepard's happiness over her own. Perhaps it was better that way, she thought despondently, as she wrapped the medi-gel cloths around Asot's wounds.


	25. Chapter 25

In the cargo hold of the refitted and upgraded Normandy, Kelly, while she put away her gear, could not help but overhear the conversation between Shepard and Tali.

"I don't know if you'll find anything else with it, but what I do know is that the Protheans had found it and hid it away long before the Reapers came and wiped them out," Nora said as she handed Tali'Zorah a data pad with all the information Echo had left her. At the Quarian's side stood both Legion and Kal'Reegar, both worse for wear after another scrape with the Indoctrinated Cerberus forces.

"Are you sure you can trust... her? After what happened?" Tali asked, concerned.

Shepard frowned. "I wouldn't trust her with a care package. However, she's more determined to destroy the Reapers, no matter what. And she was privy to a lot of hidden technology and weapons that the rest of the Protheans weren't aware of."

"But," Kal'Reegar said, "if this is what you think it is, then what good will it be against them?"

"It's not," Nora said as she shook her head, "it's a contingency. Just in case. Because there's far too many things that can happen. If it turns out to be true and if... if we lose, I want you to gather as many survivors as you can, take it, and get out."

"Shepard-Commander," the Geth platform said, "the statistical possibility of this contingency bearing any favorable results is extremely unlikely. Any technology that predates the Protheans will have either disintegrated or have been lost to time."

She gave Legion a sad smile. "I know. I just like to think that I have enough back up plans in case things go bad so we can come out alive. And knowing the Reapers and with Cerberus under their control, things can and will go bad."

"You know, I was wondering when you would put us in a situation where we would face impossible odds," Tali said wryly.

Shepard snorted, "Is that always the case? Who knows if anyone else found that thing after all these millenia. For all I know, I could be sending you into the arms of some Eldritch Abomination waiting to eat you all. And if that's the case," she then took Tali from her compatriots, and embraced her tightly to the shock of the Quarian.

Shepard then pulled away from the surprised Tali as she continued, "Kal'Reegar, Legion; your orders are as follows: You are to guard Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy with your lives. Not just because she's a member of my crew," she paused for a moment, "but because she's a member of the family I made myself, since I was denied one as I grew up."

Without a missed beat, Legion nodded, "Acknowledged."

Kal'Reegar followed suit, "Understood, Commander."

Tali tried to comprehend what had just happened. While she had noticed Shepard's condition had improved ever since she began to speak with Kelly, it was hard not to wonder at how much she had changed for the better.

"Shepard," Tali said, the joy in her voice evident. Like her Commander, she too was bereft of family, but to be considered one by a captain in the fleet was an honor above most others. She then turned to the Marine and Geth platform and said, "ready the frigate. We'll be on our way in the hour."

"Keelah Se'lai," both Legion and Kal'Reegar said at the same time before they both turned and left.

When she was sure they were out of earshot, Tali turned back to her commander and said, "Shepard.. I knew you were getting better, but I wasn't aware at how much you've changed."

Nora gave Tali a wry smile of her own. "I had good friends that cared for me. It's only recently I've seen how much," her smile faltered, "unlike Kaidan. I wonder sometimes if he resented the fact I not only shot him down, but left him to die on Virmire."

Tali blinked. "What? No, I'm sure he didn't."

"What do you mean?"

The Quarian girl said, slightly embarrassed, "I know that it was none of my business at the time, but I could hear quite a bit. And you know, even though when he made his feelings known to you, he never resented you."

"How so?"

"Well, against my better judgment, I told Kaidan that I overheard the... um, time you rejected his advances. However, he wasn't as broken up as you thought."

Nora blinked, "What? Why?"

"Well, he told me that from the first day he was assigned to your unit, you were moody, withdrawn, and reclusive. However, when Liara came along, you started to... what's that saying? ...come out of your shell? Anyway, he was happy to see you actually smile once. You did it so little back then."

Shepard shook her head. "If there's anything I do regret; it's not treating you all better than the way I did."

"But you did," Tali insisted, "you went out your way for us. And while we were a little suspicious after at first, we knew that you weren't doing it for some hidden agenda or something some Bosh'tet politician would do."

Eventually, a real smile started to creep up on Shepard's face. "You think Kaidan would have been happy at how much I've grown?"

Tali nodded enthusiastically, "I know he would have."

Nora closed her eyes and said softly, "You deserved so much more than what you got, Alenko."

Tali then grasped the Commander's shoulder gently. "Remember what you said? Let's keep fighting to make sure he's not forgotten. If we fail, then no one will remember."

"Right. Be careful, Tali." Nora nodded.

"You too." With that, the Quarian left.

Shepard enjoyed a moment's respite and a deep breath, for she knew it would not last.

"**I hope you're satisfied,**" Echo mumbled bitterly.

"I am. For now, anyway." Shepard said with a small smile.

"**If this does work...**" Echo began.

"That's a rather large 'if'." Nora stated.

"**If this does work, then perhaps I may have been wrong.**" the Prothean said with noticeable difficulty.

"Well, it has to work before you say anything."

"**You have accomplished all this and you still doubt?**"

"I'm not a god, remember? I try and plan for each and every potential event that can and will go wrong. The best I can do is try to minimize the worst possible outcome. Thus far, I've been lucky."

"**Lucky? You are on the cusp of turning the tide against the Reapers and you dare say it was due to good fortune?**"

"Yes. You've seen my life. You know what I know. All the planning in the world won't cover every eventuality. Somehow, in someway, something can and will go wrong."

"**Then deal with it as it comes.**"

"Those seem awfully kind words from someone who hates me."

"**I still do. As sure as space is dark, I still despise you. However, I will not argue with all you have achieved.**"

"So, in the slight chance we do come out victorious, what happens to you and me?"

"**That is not important at the moment. Concentrate on the battle at hand.**"

After a moment of silence, Shepard asked, "Echo? Echo?"

When no response from the Prothean came, Kelly gave Shepard a soft smile and said, "I guess she does that a lot?"

Not perturbed at Kelly's eavesdropping, Shepard shrugged. "Sometimes. However, she hasn't taken control of me since I drew the line, so, I'm guessing I was doing something right."

"I wonder, though..."

"Hm?"

"She told me once she used to be a living individual before the Reapers crushed the Protheans. You figure she was someone like you during her life?"

"You mean someone who knew about the Reapers but no one believed her?"

"Possibly. Stranger things have happened."

"I don't know. However, I don't want to say that if the same happened to me, I'd still stay me."

Kelly's smile grew. "Well, we haven't gotten to that point yet, so, there's that."


	26. Chapter 26

Kelly held her breath as she held the sniper rifle still as its energy charged before another shot let loose. Another two for one as an additional pair of Cerberus operatives fell with new holes in their heads. However, the yeoman had no time to celebrate as a shower of projectiles rained on her position and she ducked down behind her cover. She quickly activated her infiltrator cloak and ran to another position to join Shepard and the rest of the squad.

When Shepard had said things would get worse before they would get better, she was frighteningly right in ways that scared them all.

They had intercepted a transmission from a contact within Cerberus with news of a Reaper contingency.

They were going to make the mass relays self-destruct and take out every pocket of resistance in the Milky Way galaxy. While the losses on their side would be catastrophic, they would be nowhere near the number lost for the residents of the galaxy.

_They're... they're really desperate! _Shepard had said encouraged, but when the gravity of the implications came, Bahak would seem like a small incident in comparison. There were far too many of them scattered throughout the galaxy for them to deactivate them one by one.

The only recourse was to stop the Indoctrinated Cerberus group, along with a horde of husked lifeforms the Reapers had conscripted and distributed throughout the galaxy. Their destination was the only logical spot where such a command to all the relays could be: The Citadel. Which had been abandoned not long after the news of the Reapers spread through Council space.

Shepard's group had arrived only minutes behind their foes and had initiated the sequence just as they had cleared out the last of the engineers that had willingly doomed the galaxy as a whole. While the destruction sequence could not be reversed, they did have an alternative.

With Echo, Liara and Shepard had been able to bypass the locks the Cerberus engineers had placed on the console so they could shut down the entire relay system. Unlike normal shut down states, this would render both Citadel and the entire Relay System completely useless and they needed time, which they did not have, to enter the correct sequence. And with the remainder of the husks and Cerberus on the attack, Shepard and her crew were in a very precarious situation.

At the moment, Kelly, along with Matriarch Aethyta, had been keeping the Cerberus thugs and the seemingly endless amount of husks away from the Council Chambers. Above them, James Vega had taken a scout's position and unseen by the enemy for the moment, he was ready to jump down to join them the instant his presence had been discovered.

"Good shot, babe," the Matriarch said as she used an omni-gel patch to seal a hole in her old commando leathers.

"Thank you," she said quickly as she moved back to another defensible position. The Matriarch had taken a liking to Kelly and had been a support, along with Liara and Shepard, when she had witnessed her family's demise as the Reapers had scoured Earth.

"_I love you, daddy," Kelly said with tears formed in her eyes._

_On the other side of the screen, her father, wounded by the looks of it, had smiled sadly and placed his hand on the screen, "I love you too, sweetheart."_

_The earth began to shake on his end and he looked to the left to see a ominous red light grow large from a distance. In an instant, they had lost contact and the screen had been reduced to static._

"_Dad?" Kelly said weakly as moisture poured from her eyes and around her cheeks. "No, please... dad, answer, please!" she added as she tried to establish contact. It was eventually fruitless as she collapsed to the floor in heaving sobs. _

_She was not aware of how long she had cried, however, a pair of arms encircled her. Kelly looked up to see Shepard, with a look that told her how well she had understood. OLA, Virmire, Torfan, and more. She knew all too well. The younger woman's lip began to quiver and she then threw her own arms around Shepard and wailed loudly into the taller woman's shoulder at the loss of her father._

A second voice broke her from her memories.

"Oh ho! That's surprising!" Liara called from the console where she and Shepard moved through an endless amount of sub-categories to find the command module they needed. "That's certainly kind of you to pay attention to someone you just barely met, let alone your own daughter!"

"This isn't the time!" the Matriarch yelled irritably.

"And what was all the time before, then?" Liara shot back.

Kelly gave Shepard a look, who responded with a gaze of her own that spoke that it would be better to not say anything.

To say that the reunion between Liara and her 'father' had been anything but pleasant was an understatement.

Liara, understandably, felt frustrated and angry that Aethyta had been practically her neighbor on Illium for almost two years. For two years, Aethyta knew the truth and had done nothing. It wasn't until she had become the Shadow Broker did the truth come out. Even then, it had been another year after the Reapers had arrived before they had a chance to bring it out in the open.

Shepard had taken Kelly out of the room when it happened, due to all the unpleasant language tossed around in Thessian.

"Incoming!" Vega yelled and shot another rocket at the horde of husks that approached. Several of the monstrosities made from former human, asari, salarian, batarian, and turian flew in several directions as more plummeted in the structural shafts.

Aware that their time was short, Kelly called back to the two at the panel, "How much time do we have left?"

"You don't want to know!" Shepard yelled back as the screens in front of them changed with such alarming frequency, it seemed as though the console was in a seizure.

The yeoman switched from her sniper rifle to her mattock and began to assist the Matriarch as the tide of husks seemed to only grow larger with each fallen foe.

With additional rockets from above, the number of husks still remained determined to overwhelm them.

"Will you be able to shut them down in time?" Kelly heard Liara say over the radio in her ear.

"We'll know soon enough before the initiation sequence runs through!" Shepard said back quickly.

"It's abhorrent! Either we shut down the relay system or everyone dies. I can't help but think of all the chaos it will cause."

"It's what they call a 'Sophie's Choice'." Shepard said with noticeable weight behind her voice.

"How so?"

"We all like being alive. We also like the advances the Citadel and the Mass Relays give us. We, unfortunately have to choose one or the other. So, we're making the choice, regardless of how it's going to affect the rest of the galaxy. People are going to blame us, and more likely than not, me, for doing this, if we survive."

Aethyta snorted in contempt of her many contemporaries who had doubted her and her warnings, "So, business as usual then?"

Liara interrupted any sort of response, "We can tell them the truth of what happened. We have the recordings."

Kelly could tell Shepard shook her head. "They'll never believe the truth. Most people are already convinced of whatever version of me is already in their heads. They'll never know or care."

The yeoman put her hand to the comm in her ear and said, "We know... and we still care, Shepard."

There was a moment of silence between the waves of husks and on the comm.

"Thank you, Kelly."

"Here they come again!" James said as he fired another set of rockets down at the horde of husks. With no more Cerberus agents to guide them, they simply ran like uncoordinated lemmings to their doom.

Around them, they could feel the broken, shattered, and withered arms of the Citadel begin to move outward even more. As though it were a flower, about to open its petals wide to spread the command to end all life as they knew it.

"Hurry!" Kelly screamed as the wave of husks pressed forward.

The lights began to blare from all around them and the sound of something akin to a banshee's howl rang in the air. The noise pierced their ears so, that they had no choice but to plug them in attempt to shut the noise out. Even the husks were not immune to the wail as they flailed about and began to attack each other until not a single one remained.

Just when the screech had reached a threshold, silence took its place. Subsequently, the lights began to power down. One by one, the arms of the dead Citadel grew silent. Not long after that, the lights and gravity followed suit in the Council chambers.

"We did it?" Kelly asked, unsure if this was supposed to happen.

"Yeah, we won," Nora said as she collapsed as Liara sat beside her. Her tone, however, didn't sound victorious. In fact, the air felt heavier around them as the sound of leaking oxygen began to be noticed.

"Preserve air, everyone. Get your helmets on," Shepard ordered as the team scrambled to prepare for the inevitable lack of breathable air that would render the Citadel more than just an uninhabitable space station.

It had taken them time, but eventually, they had reached the Normandy, manually disengaged the landing locks, and then left the derelict station to rot. No sooner had they left the station did it begin to fall apart. Without the power to hold it together, the natural forces of the universe slowly began to eat away at the now-derelict station.

While victorious, the implications of their victory hung heavy over them all. Shepard especially. She leaned over the platform of the galactic map as the relay map, now useless, went dark. The commander allowed herself a sigh before Liara had stepped up behind her and embraced her waist with her head rested upon Nora's shoulder.

"So... where do we go now?" the asari asked as the rest of the crew listened in, aware that now, they were years, possibly decades, away from Earth and centuries away from Thessia.

Shepard, while appreciative of Liara's attention as she took Liara's hand in her own, answered tiredly, "the only place we can go. Bekenstein... what's left of it."

There was no objection as Joker piloted the Normandy past Relay 001, now nothing more than a useless piece of metal that would fall apart, float aimlessly into a star and eventually be buried in memory and in time.


	27. Chapter 27

SOME TIME LATER...

Bekenstein, what was left of it, had escaped most of the effects of the war by virtue of the heavy concentration of illegal weaponry it housed. Powerful enough to hold off several Reaper advances to the point where the invaders felt it more prudent to wait until the rest of the galaxy had been worn down.

What they did not expect, however, was their defeat by starvation at Shepard's hands and her subsequent circumvention of their contingency plans.

Now, Bekenstein served as the temporary new heart of the Council, with a bustling majority of the former residents of the Citadel spread throughout the planet.

The Councilors had changed, no doubt weary from the war and it appeared they had been more on their feet working to assist with refugees and helping to keep hope alive for those alive. They were ragged and worn. Kelly couldn't help but notice the anger and contempt she usually held for the councilors were gone. She wearily handed them her final report.

"So," Sparatus said as he looked up from the pad to her, "that explains the Mass Relays shutting down."

Tevos leaned against the wall, "and you're sure that you had no alternative?"

Nora nodded wearily, "Yes, Councilor. We had almost no time to act by the time Cerberus had reached the Citadel. I don't like the fact that I had to do it, but there really was no alternative."

Councilor Velarn folded his arms. "Considering that we're all still here, I highly doubt we have much to complain about."

She smiled sadly, "except for the fact that I've more or less destroyed the transportation infrestructure of the whole galaxy."

"Would you rather you let the Reapers succeed and kill us all? Honestly, Shepard, I thought you were more sure of yourself than that," Sparatus said in mock annoyance.

Nora chuckled, "I know. I'm just tired. This war took so much out of me. I'm not sure there's anything left."

Tevos smiled. "For what it's worth, Commander, it speaks well of you. People will remember you well for this. We'll make sure of that. And this time, it'll be our voices instead of that of what we were told to say."

The Spectre blinked in surprise, "I meant to ask you, High Command, the Hierarchy, and the Dalatrasses..."

Velarn answered. "They all told us to disparage your story about Sovereign and the Reapers after the Citadel. We're not foolish, Shepard. We were there and our individual research determined from the wreckage that Sovereign was not, in fact, a geth craft."

"Can I take a reasonable guess and say the reason why my story was talked down was to prevent a panic?" she asked as she took a seat across from Tevos.

Sparatus nodded. "The Hierarchy felt that telling the general populace about the Reaper threat would destabilize everything. It's also the same thing happened with High Command and the Dalatresses."

Nora paused for a moment before she asked, "then why wasn't anything done to prepare?"

Tevos raised her eyebrows and said, "everyone has secrets, Shepard. Our respective governments were too suspcious of one another to even think about collaborating the data we had."

The Spectre then placed her face in her hands and sighed, "I should be surprised, but I'm not. Though, I probably didn't help things; stomping around and acting like some punk kid, saying I was right without any proof. It always seemed to blow up in my face."

"Not all of it," Velarn said, "Captain Kirrahe and the STGs you rescued on Virmire corraborated your story about the indoctrination techniques the Reapers used, but, like Sparatus said..."

"It would have started a panic," Nora finished for him. There was a moment of silence before Shepard said, "all things considered, I'm not a very good Spectre. I certainly make a lot of enemies wherever I go."

"That's not neccesarily true," Tevos spoke up, "remember what you told us after the battle of the Citadel?"

"Save your thanks?" Shepard asked with a cocked eyebrow, confused.

The asari councilor shook her head. "No. You chose to save the Destiny Ascension for the sake of the mothers, daughters, and sisters of the ten thousand aboard the craft. While your anger was understandable, that earned humanity a bit more respect from a few Matriarchs at High Command."

Any joy she might have had in such a statement was diffused quickly. "It's because there were more lives at stake. It's all about the numbers. The more people I can save, perhaps the better off I'll be in the long run. But it's difficult to second guess myself."

She stood up and addressed all three councilors, "I say that because I've had a long, and very heavy, debt to repay to someone. Someone that saved my life when I was growing up. And, after stopping the Reapers, I think it's safe to say my debt's been paid in full. That is why I am resigning from the Spectres... if there's still a Spectre program left after all this."

None of them looked surprised at her choice. "While we are disappointed to hear that, Shepard, we understand," Tevos said calmly. "If, however, you were to reconsider, we would not refuse your assistance."

She smiled back to the asari tiredly. "I'll think about it."

"So," Sparatus said as he walked to the entrance to the hall they were in, "what shall we do now? Try and start over?"

"Well," Shepard spoke up, "if a contingency I worked out during the war pays off, we may not have to worry about it that much."

Velarn cocked an eyebrow. "How so?"

As if to answer the councilor's question, a long beam of light appeared in the sky. It then stretched upward, into what appeared to be a huge doorway of pure white energy. As it then began to move backward, a large and noticeably alien cruiser, far larger than anything built by the Alliance or Council, emerged slowly to loom over the capital city.

Not long after, a communication came from the craft to Shepard and the Councilors. The voice, regal, majestic, and almost deified, belonged to none other than Tali'zorah.

"_Rannoch has returned._"

Shepard smirked, and Kelly gave them a cheeky smile with her, as she turned back to the genuinely surprised councilors.

"That's how."


	28. Chapter 28

Tali'Zorah vas Sajuuk* had saved the galaxy.

The technology that Echo had revealed to Shepard had been the basis of an ancient Quarian legend of _He Whose Hand Shapes All_. It had been discovered by the Protheans long before the Quarians had taken to the stars and had spirited it away from their true owners.

However, the Protheans, who felt the hyperspace tech the predecessors of the Quarians had was inferior in comparison to the Mass Relays, hid it away and only Echo knew of it.

During the Reaper's War, Shepard had informed Tali about it and while the rest of the Galaxy was locked in conflict with the Reapers, she, along with Legion and Kal'Reegar, had discovered its hiding place.

Initially, the Admirals and the Voices of the Geth had questioned the need for Tali'zorah to bring them the technology when the Mass Relays were already available.

She, along with her compatriots, had to explain, again, the whole set-up with the Citadel and the Mass Relays as nothing more than an elaborate trap for the Reapers to consume them all. The time had come to put the Mass Relays aside and for the Perseus Trust to secure their own future.

When news of the Mass Relays deactivation and their inevitable degradation reached the Perseus Trust, they then agreed to Tali'Zorah's idea to re-outfit their entire fleet.

Tali'zorah had made it clear that because of Shepard's intervention, they would not have survived.

So, as a gesture of good-will, after a stopover at Bekenstein to pick up Shepard, Tali'zorah had offered the Alliance a simple variation of the hyperspace tech, while the true tech remained with her people. The Alliance had readily accepted and within a few months, they had developed a camaraderie that had left the rest of the Council races flustered.

It was ironic. The Quarians, once distrusted, despised, and displaced, now held the cards against the races that did nothing to help them.

As tempted as Tali'Zorah, the Conclave, and the Admiralty were to spit in the faces of the Asari Republics, the Hierarchy, and the Union for their indifference, they were 'permitted' to make use of downgraded hyperspace tech in order to resume galactic commerce, upon condition that the Perseus Trust, both Geth and Quarians, would be given a seat in Council politics and a small percentage of profits. Despite the several protestations from the Volus, and other groups with poorly concealed spite towards the Quarians, they relented.

One year after the end of the war, reconstruction began. With the Citadel in shambles and fallen apart, it was left as a graveyard and a testament to the ruin of Reaper technology. To ensure that the Reapers would fade into history, the Geth hunted and destroyed all remnants of their technology. Whether it was complete dismantling or tossing their lifeless husks into stars; the Reapers were truly no more.

* * *

"Never thought I'd be coming back to this dump again," Nora mumbled as she and Kelly walked through the ruins of Old Los Angeles. Over ruined vehicle and destroyed concrete, the two woman walked slowly through the ozone of once husk infested pit of Reaper control. Both Shepard and Kelly held their Mattocks at the ready should any stragglers should appear, which did from time to time.

"You volunteered us, remember?" Kelly said with a cheeky smile.

Shepard frowned a moment as she kicked a piece of concrete out of the way. "Yeah, I did. Didn't I? "

The yeoman nodded and stifled a yawn as the early morning sun peeked through the ruined buildings. "How many more districts do we have before we can head out?"

"Just this one. I want to make sure there's nothing left of my old haunts before I leave this place for good," the older woman said with an air of finality.

"You're really leaving, then?" Kelly asked, as an uneasy feeling emerged in the pit of her stomach.

The commander nodded. "Yes. I never liked Earth. People have this crazy idea that I fought for humanity, Sol, and all that, but it was never true. Humanity treated me like garbage and they wouldn't have batted an eye had I died as a kid. The same for Nora."

Kelly could find no response to Nora's statement, because it was true to a sickening degree.

"Don't misunderstand, Kelly. I would go to hell and back to save you and the folks on the SR-2 again because you treated me like a person. The same goes for Anderson, Ashely, and Hackett."

Kelly smiled at her friend. "I'm glad to hear that."

Nora offered her a smile of her own. "So, what are your plans?"

The yeoman looked up a moment. "I'll probably head back to Bekenstein. Take my degrees with me and start another practice there. Lots of rich people that lost most of their fortunes have to start working like the rest of us. Turns out they're having a hard time dealing with it."

Shepard chuckled. "Be sure and say 'hello' to Kasumi and Jacob for me. Last I heard, they were having a kid together and taking up the late Donovan Hock's property."

The redhead nodded. "I will. Though, they'll be wondering about you too. They're more or less an item because of you."

Shepard spoke quickly. "I know nothing."

Kelly gave a hearty laugh in response. "So, what about yourself?"

The taller woman was silent for a moment as they passed through the remains of a park. "Since I'm not longer a Spectre or an N7 anymore, I was thinking about heading back to Hagalaz. Stay with Liara, start a family in secret."

Kelly raised an eyebrow. "Why in secret?"

Nora snorted. "Because after all I've done, there are some members of the old Council who blame me for all that we've lost. Ungrateful little dicks. Can you believe that the remnants of the Batarian race want to blame me for their destruction of their entire civilization too?"

Kelly shook her head. "Unbelievable."

Shepard shrugged. "I don't worry about them too much. Without the Hagemony, the batarian raiders are a distant memory now. Guess I was right and the Batarians gave the Reapers indigestion, which, I guess, helped us win. And you know what? They're an endangered species and no one seems to care."

"Oh, be nice," Kelly admonished.

The commander rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine. Maybe they won't be stupid this time and make something different from the Hagemony that everyone hated."

The yeoman smiled. "I'll take that." Her good mood, however, faded and was replaced with concern. "What about Echo? Is she still there?"

Nora had a distant look in her eyes. "I haven't seen her in a while. I always felt her in the back of my head whenever she was active. However, she's been silent for a long time. I'm not sure whether I should be relieved or worried."

"No nightmares. No feelings of her taking over for a moment?"

The taller woman shook her head. "No midnight bodily possessions. As much as I hated her, if she really is gone... I am going to miss her. In a sick and twisted sort of way."

Kelly's bright smile returned. "Then, I assume you'll want your clean bill of mental health, then?"

Nora matched her smile. "No, not yet. I still have a few loose ends to tie up."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Kelly asked as she followed her down an alleyway as Shepard inspected one of her old hiding spots.

She inspected the barren and utterly destroyed basement she used to hide in and turned around, satisfied that nothing of her past remained. "Thank you, but no. These are things I have to do myself. Among them is speak with al-Jilani. She's been bugging me to do my biography for some time, so, I relented against my better judgment. She may be alright now, but be careful, she may want to speak with you too."

The yeoman waved it off. "If they can't take the word of a trained psychologist, then they're the ones that are crazy."

Nora snorted again as they traveled down another abandoned street. "The heads of the council races saw a Reaper themselves and they still didn't believe it. Even with the Councilors on my side."

The younger woman offered with a larger smile, "Perhaps they should see me. Denial can be a symptom of serious mental problems."

Shepard's lids lowered. "If only we were so lucky."

They continued their search in silence as the last of Shepard's past was confirmed to be truly dead and buried. Once they returned to the kodiak to take them back to the Normandy, Shepard turned to her friend.

"Kelly. I wanted to tell you that I never would have gotten this far if it weren't for you. You saved me. I'll never forget that."

"You're welcome, Nora."

To the smaller woman's surprise, Shepard walked towards her and enfolded her arms around her smaller frame.

"Thank you, Kelly. For everything."

Aware that Shepard's kindness had saved her when she witnessed her father's demise, she reciprocated the embrace.

"Thank you, Nora. Take care of yourself."

It would be the last time she would ever see Nora Shepard again.

* * *

*Relic, I can haz Homeworld 3, plz?


	29. Chapter 29

SOME TIME LATER...

"There she is!" Dalatrass Linron said with poorly concealed contempt.

Kelly and her coworkers for the local government looked up from their reports to see the two salarian soldiers barge through the door and grab Kelly's arms.

"What? Let me go!" Kelly shouted as the two soldiers roughly dragged her behind the Dalatrass and another pair of soldiers out from the office and to the back rooms. Doors were locked quickly and tightly and a single light appeared.

Kelly was forced to stand under the light as the four soldiers flanked her and aimed their weapons at her. Right behind the Dalatress, another salarian, most likely the captain, joined them, though he seemed even less pleased than his superior.

"Where is Shepard?" she spat.

"What?" Kelly responded surprise.

The frown on the salarian's face grew. "You're not stupid, human. I know you can hear me and understand what I am saying, so, I need not repeat myself again: Where. Is. Shepard?"

Kelly matched his frown with one of her own. "Why?"

Dalatrass Linron snorted and clasped her hands at the back of her waist. "She is going to stand trial for her crimes against the galaxy."

The former yeoman looked back at her with equal parts of shock and disgust. "After everything she did to save you? You want to arrest and try her?"

Dalatrass Linron's condescending tone did not diminish. "It's not your place to question, human. Where is she?"

Kelly then stood straight. "I haven't seen her in a long time. And even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you."

The salarian almost smirked as though she wished Kelly would say that as he turned to the captain. "Be sure to put down that she resisted cooperation and willfully aided and abetted hiding a terrorist. It'll make the news people less suspicious when they find her corpse at the edge of the ocean."

She clenched her fists and was ready to resist, despite the odds against her. However, when it was about to become worse, the light went out. Kelly then heard the sounds of struggle, fists slammed into jaws, bodies collapsed, and yelps of pain.

A instant later, the light came back on. All four salarians were against the wall, disarmed and incapacitated. A tall and white feathery cloaked individual stood in front of Kelly, as if to guard her. He was hunched over, his gaze locked on Dalatrass Linron.

"You will do no such thing, Linron," the white cloaked person, who had the same dual toned voice of a turian, said with courage that it made her begin to tremble.

"What is this?" the salarian captain said as he stepped in front of the Dalatrass.

From beneath his cloak, the heroic turian produced a data pad and handed it to the captain. "A warrant for the arrest of Dalatrass Mena Linron. Traitor to the Salarian Union."

"Preposterous!" the Dalatrass growled. "There's no reason I should be arrested."

The white cloaked hero raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" His other arm appeared, his omni-tool turned on, and an audio recording began to play.

"_I can appreciate your assistance in these efforts, Dalatrass Linron," _the unmistakable voice of the Illusive Man said.

"_Yes. Be sure that the ark ship is ready for me and the other heads of state. If this is the only way that our species' can survive, then so be it. A pity that Sur'Kesh won't survive, but you have to make sacrifices," _ her recording said casually.

"This two-faced scum sold all of us out to the Reapers and Cerberus," the white cloaked turian said.

Aware of his duty now, the salarian captain was about to reach for his cuffs when Linron shoved him aside and made a mad dash for the door. She did not get far however as the white cloaked turian had somehow reached the door before her, grabbed the salarian by the cowl, and forced her to the wall.

"You're going nowhere!" the heroic turian snarled.

"What are you?" Dalatrass Linron sqreeched.

The white cloaked turian said forcefully, "I'm Archangel."

No sooner did Dalatrass Linron knew she was doomed, the captain stomped to them both, immediately cuffed Dalatrass Linron's wrists and began to drag her away.

"Be grateful a judge will decide your fate, you monster. My family died on Sur'Kesh and if I didn't believe in due process, I'd pass judgment myself!" the salarian captain snarled before he forcefully dragged the deposed Dalatrass out.

"Archangel, hm?" Kelly said as she walked up to the turian hero that had saved her life.

The hero of Omega turned to her and nodded. "Yes. Once they were discredited, Shepard knew people like the Dalatrass would come after her, whether it was her directly or through her old squads. As you can now see, they've failed thus far."

"So, Garrus. Those old Batman comic books I found in the Normandy's mess hall were yours, I take it?" she asked with a smile.

"I have no clue what you're talking about," the vigilante muttered a bit too quickly. Kelly decided not to press the issue.

"So, aside from saving my life, what brings you to Bekenstein?" she asked as her heartbeat returned to normal.

Garrus turned to her, produced another data pad and handed it to her. "While we were able to get most of the old guard, it's still not safe for you or any other members of the squad. For the time being, they're in hiding and I, along with help from the Shadow Broker, are ensuring that they get their just rewards. That goes for you as well. This data pad has a ticket out of the system. It also has instructions on how to get there without being followed."

The implication of laying low and vanishing from the net was not a prospect she had enjoyed. Her time with Cerberus was one of secrecy from her family and it killed her to think her family never knew she was with a known terrorist group for as long as she was. However, even if Dalatrass Linron was foiled, they'd still try again to get her.

"Go home, gather what you can carry and head to the starport. Transportation and a change of clothes will be waiting for you." Garrus said as he returned to the shadows from whence he came, almost as if he was some sort of nocturnal flying mammal.

* * *

Kelly adjusted the long, black wig on head quickly as she donned the 'fat dress' to make her appear like someone else. While Kelly had fond recollections of sleep overs with girlfriends about make-up, fudge making, and talking about boys, the false eyebrows and glasses made her look hideous. Well, it was certainly better than being out in the open.

She quickly exited the woman's locker room and made her way to one of the less populated gates. The instructions she had said she would meet with an individual who would hold a sign 'Georgia Cinncinnatus', Kelly's alias. Said individual would take her to a shuttle that would rendezvous with another ship to take her out of the system.

Sure enough, a woman with shoulder length blonde hair had the sign her instructions said. She quickly walked up to the woman, who said, "Can I speak to you for a minute?"

Kelly pushed up her glasses,"Can it wait? I'm in the middle of some calibrations."

The woman acknowledged her signal sized her up, nodded, and said in a familiar voice. "Follow me, Ms. Cinncinnatus."

As they entered the terminal to the entryway to the gate, Kelly couldn't help but feel this woman seemed familiar. As they boarded the kodiak shuttle, the former yeoman was still at a loss as to whom this mysterious woman was.

Kelly took a last look at what had been her home for the past year and sighed. While she had adapted well enough with her coworkers, she still could not help but feel a sense of longing for the times she served on the SR-2 with Shepard. Sure, she'd be safe in hiding, but if Garrus was of any indication, she could not lament over the past.

She had almost settled down there after a few well meaning gentlemen had tried to court her. They were considerate and patient, however, she just could not shake the feeling that something was missing from all of them. Perhaps she was being unfair because she still longed for the times she traversed with Shepard and her squad.

Well, it didn't help there seemed to be a government mandate that people needed to be reproducing after all the losses the galaxy had endured as the Reaper War raged as violently and costly as it did.

"Here we are," the woman said as they came on approach to the rendezvous point.

To Kelly's surprise, she gasped when saw the Normandy SR-2, still functional and upgraded to match the newer frigates in the various fleets.

When they boarded, the woman sighed happily and said, "It's always good to be back in my own skin."

The woman's guest blinked in confusion. "What? ...EDI?"

The blonde woman smiled at her and then EDI's holographic image appeared beside her and spoke in perfect unison. "It is good to see you again, Kelly."

Kelly gasped. "You have a body? How?"

The construct that was EDI's body answered as calmly as before. "As a gesture of goodwill between us and the Perseus Trust, they facilitated my ability to move around inside and outside the ship with a bio-synthesized body of my own. Now, I am able to interact interdependently as I see fit."

Joker's face then appeared on the screen beside their landing pad. "Ain't she a beaut? And the best part about it is all the se..."

The audio turned off abruptly. "That's enough, Jeff. We do not discuss such things in polite company." Joker pouted, then turned the video feed off.

It was only then that Kelly got a good look at EDI's new body. It almost seemed like they took a template of a standard healthy human woman and worked from there. However, it was hard for Kelly not to notice the bosom, and the unnecessary cleavage exposed in her skin-tight uniform, whose size seemed to rival Miranda's.

_Those are so fake. _Kelly thought to herself spitefully. "So, where are we going?" she inquired.

As EDI turned to the elevator, she said calmly, "Rannoch. At the moment, there are fewer chances the Council will follow them there for various reasons. While open, the Perseus Trust ensures that no hostile groups are allowed in, until the galaxy can acclimate more to a more stabilized group of Quarians and Geth. We are one of the few ships that are allowed free reign through the borders."

Kelly blinked. "I can understand why, but Rannoch?"

EDI nodded once more before the doors closed. "You have friends there. Please, make yourself at home during the trip. We should be there within a day."


	30. Chapter 30

Rannoch was beautiful.

Unlike the bright yellow star of Sol, Rannoch's sun was far older, which gave it a notable orange hue. Tall and snow covered mountains reached for the sky as the shuttle they had slowly made its descent to the newly constructed capital, Rayya. The three largest liveships were dismantled after the war and the materials used to create the small metropoli for the Quarians to live.

From the shuttle's cabin, Kelly heard the air controller speak to EDI in the pilot seat, "Understood. Proceed to landing dock twenty-four. Welcome to Rannoch."

As the shuttle slowly landed, EDI assisted Kelly out of the cabin. "And here is where we part ways, Kelly. Your possessions have been rounded up and will be sent to you soon."

Kelly the smiled, then remembered something she said she wanted to do a while ago and promptly hugged the human construct. "Thank you, EDI. For everything."

EDI returned the smile. "I am glad to be of service."

When the shuttle lifted off, Kelly heard another familiar voice cry out her name. She whirled around to see Tali'zorah, her pale face exposed, her eyes shone with their own inner light, but with a transparent breather instead of a helmet. Tali's jet black hair was draped over her shoulders like a lion's mane. She also wore velvet colored robes which barely touched the floor as she approached the human.

"It's good to see you again!" the quarian said happily as she embraced her friend.

"You as well, Tali. How have you been?" she asked as she returned the gesture, but noticed a smaller shape right behind them. She pulled back to see a little quarian girl, her small sun-touched hands and face, unlike the paler skin of Tali, almost hidden behind Tali's and her own silvery white robe which nearly completely covered her.

"Dyna. This is my friend, Kelly. Won't you say hello?" Tali gently encouraged the child.

"...hello," the child said timidly as her own luminous eyes were not sure what to think of the visitor. Patiently, Tali knelt down and picked up the child and held her against her shoulder.

"Dyna'Reegar has not met many humans, admittedly. But she will learn eventually," Tali said as she gave a hug to her daughter.

"She's adorable," Kelly said and gave Dyna an encouraging smile. Though the little quarian did not respond favorably to Kelly's comment, she did not hide away either.

"Come, there's someone you'll want to meet," Tali said as she led Kelly off of the platform.

As they traversed through the alien star port, it was hard for Kelly to not feel self-conscious as more than once Quarians, and their Geth companions, could not help but look at their human visitor. However, whenever one locked gazes with Kelly, they simply went back to their business, uninterested.

When they reached the area where their shuttle awaited them, she noticed more Quarians and Geth together. Some Quarians still in their suits, others like Tali had only sub-sections still equipped, while a few were completely free of their old environmental suits. In addition, there was no fear of the Geth in the Quarians anymore. It made her happy to see this happen.

"Chambers-Yeoman," another familiar voice stated calmly.

Kelly and Tali looked up to see a Geth Prime walk up to them. There were familiar marks along the front of its chasis. And a hole that would have hit her had a certain Geth not moved her out of the way in time.

"Vigilant?" Kelly said as she recalled the talks on Ilos.

The platform nodded. "Yes. The Geth are pleased to see you here. Your trust has been remembered among us."

"It's good to see you as well. How have the Quarians and the Geth gotten along?" she asked.

Vigilant answered, "It has not been easy. However, there has been progress. Like all things, it will take time."

Kelly smiled at the large automation. "That's good."

"Vigilant," Tali asked, "are they free? I'd rather not disturb them if possible. Though, I would think they'd want to see her, themselves."

"They are. They are waiting for you, Chambers-Yeoman," the Geth Prime said before it bowed, turned around, and left them to their devices.

Kelly blinked once and turned to Tali. "Who are 'they'?"

Tali only smiled after she placed a sleeping Dyna in the backseat of the hovercar. "And spoil the surprise? Have a seat, you'll see soon enough."

* * *

At the edge of one of the few oceans on Rannoch, the hovercar landed softly and Kelly stepped out. The small town they had arrived in, Niera, had been one of the small resource gathering ships. Now, it had converted into a fishing town that would help provide the sustenance of more of their people in the larger city.

"Are 'they' here?" Kelly asked as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

Tali nodded and led her to the house at the edge of the sea and, by all appearances, separated from the rest of the town.

The Quarian knocked on the door. "She's here," Tali announced through the door.

"Enter, please," a muffled voice from behind the door said. Tali, immediately followed by Kelly. It was a comfortably furnished home, with lots of windows to show the sun.

"Give me a call if you need anything, Kelly," Tali said before she gave Kelly a respectful bow and exited.

When Kelly felt herself alone, she was not entirely sure who would have dragged her halfway across the galaxy. However, she had come this far, may as well see who it was.

She slowly made her way to the balcony, where two figures, one in a green robe, the other in an ashen gray one, watched the sunset.

"Um, hello?" Kelly asked as she stepped forward.

The person in the green robe turned to reveal Liara, who gave Kelly a warm smile. "It's good to see you, Kelly."

The former yeoman gasped when she realized whom the other individual could have been. Surely enough, the person in the ashen gray robe turned and pulled down her hood to show Nora, with the same grin Liara had.

"Nora! Liara! It's good to see you two," Kelly said as she placed her bag aside and walked up to embrace them both.

Shepard returned the embrace, but said, "It's good to see you too. But I'm afraid you're mistaken."

"What?"

The taller woman shook her head. "I'm not Nora Shepard. My name is Ann," she said with a wry smirk.

The pieces came together quickly as Kelly responded. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Liara then stepped forward. "You have many questions, I'm sure. That's why we brought you here. Both Ann and I came to the conclusion that there shouldn't be anymore secrets. And that means you deserve to know everything."

"Everything? What about? I've been privy to quite a bit," Kelly said with a raised eyebrow.

"But not everything. For example, remember whom your benefactor was? The one that got you into Cerberus in the first place?"

Kelly gasped when she remembered that she had not received a single message from whomever it was in the longest time.

The asari took both of Kelly's hands. "I was the benefactor. I never could trust Cerberus, even after all I did and what they promised. I needed someone I could trust. And in all my searching, I found you, Kelly. I hoped that if you could be there for Ann when I could not, it would put my mind at ease. I deeply apologize for not telling you sooner."

Kelly's mind was blown as she suddenly realized how much Liara could have known if she was telling the truth.

"Perhaps she needs to see it for herself," Ann offered.

The asari nodded before she turned to Kelly and asked, "Will you let me show you the truth, Kelly?"

Despite the uneasy feeling in her stomach, the smaller woman nodded.

Liara understood her trepidation and said softly, "Now, Kelly Chambers... clear your mind... and Embrace Eternity..." Liara's eyes went dark and Kelly found herself in freefall through years of memories.

Kelly saw everything. Everything experienced by both, Liara and Ann.

From the anguish of her best friend consumed in the inferno at the church to the hope of a new life with Nora's name.

From the shame of Torfan to the pride of being the First Human Spectre.

From the urgency of the hunt for Saren to the amusement at Nora's and Liara's first meeting on Therum.

From the frustration of the Council's willful ignorance to the sorrow of Liara's loss of her mother, to the fear of Sovereign's designs.

From the love of Liara T'Soni before Ilos to the pain of Shepard's first death over Alchera.

From the rage she felt in the war against the Collectors and the Reapers, to the joy she felt of her friends and loved ones.

Through the memories, there came a single unifying point. There was a light. A light that had once started out small, but had grown into a strong and healthy radiance. Within it, a love that Kelly felt was for her, but had come from both Liara and Ann.

When the meld ended, Kelly looked to both of them as tears streamed down her face. The feeling she experienced was rapturous. A warmth she had never felt before.

Liara then took a seat across from Ann as Kelly wiped the tears from her eyes.

Kelly sniffed as the taller woman walked up to her and embraced her.

"You ok?" Ann had asked.

Kelly nodded. "I'm just... shaken, is all." The taller woman nodded in understanding as Kelly wiped her face clean. "So, where do we go from here?"

Ann looked to Liara before she said with a bit of trepidation, "Well, Liara and I were hoping you'd stay. We've grown... very fond of you, Kelly."

Kelly blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Strange, I know. But if it wasn't for you, Liara and I wouldn't have survived."

Liara spoke up, "And Kelly; we trust you. Perhaps more than anyone else. I know Echo was trying to offer Ann to you, but you refused for my sake even though I knew it hurt you. It would mean so much to us."

It seemed like a fairy tale that was just too good to be true. However, something bothered her.

"Are you sure this isn't Echo's doing?"

Ann shook her head, took a step back and switched on her omni-tool. An audio recording with Echo's distinct voice began to play back.

"_**You have never been a warrior, nor a soldier. However, Kelly Chambers, you are a mover of fates where no one sees. Your efforts have affected more than you will ever realize. In the face of my anger and violence, you stood firm. Your heart directed you selflessly to give up all that you wanted when it was within your grasp. Yours is a quality that I have never seen among my own people. The gods have guarded, protected, and inspired you, Kelly Chambers. The galaxy will never know, nor appreciate your contributions, for without them, the Cycle of the Reapers would have continued. Thank you and good bye. May the Gods preserve and prosper you."**_

The recipient of Echo's final message left her silent. It was strange to hear her talk without the condescension, the wrath, and anger she usually carried.

"So... Echo is..." Kelly began.

Ann answered. "The best I can come up with is that she faded away. With nothing left to hate, she simply dissolved and left me more memories of the Protheans so they won't be completely forgotten. Perhaps it's for the best."

There was a long and poignant pause. As if all three of them gave Echo a moment of silence.

"I think," Kelly began, "I think I'll take yours and Liara's offer. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but, somehow, I'd rather see what happens than not. Besides, I'll have you two with me. I think I'll be ok."

Ann smiled and whispered, "Good." The taller woman then proceeded to walk forward, take Kelly in another embrace and gave her a short, but sweet kiss. "Good..." At the same time, Liara stood up and affectionately placed her hands on Kelly's shoulders covered by Ann's arms and nestled her face in the back of Kelly's hair.

Kelly and Ann pulled back from one another, still enamored as Liara wrapped her arms around Kelly's shoulders, until Ann's face changed to one of surprise.

"I almost forgot. I wanted you to see this..." the taller woman said before she reached into her robe and pulled out a familiar plastic packet.

It was the impotent Red Sand.

Ann then walked to the edge of the balcony, opened the packet, and spilled its contents into the ocean. When the last of the dust was gone, she looked up to the sky, took a deep breath, turned to Kelly and Liara with a bright smile and said, "I think I'm better now. Want to start over?"

Kelly, with tears of joy beginning to stream down her face, nodded and said, "Gladly."

The End*

* * *

Ending theme music is the Finale from Cirque Du Soleil's "O".

What you have read took me two and a half months to write and finished just before Christmas last year. I hope you've enjoyed the trip, because I know I did.

Special Thanks goes to:

Malaradark: Author of the **Dark Energy** series, which shows that a Renegade doesn't need to be a total douchebag, and can still be human, to get the job done. And whose stories made me want to develop my rather standard, and run of the mill, Shepard into her own person.

N7 Corsair: Author of **The Sea and the Rose **and **Of Prepar****ation and Parting**, for an engaging and interesting rendition of possible post-ME3 events.

Raven Studios: Author of **Mass Effect: Newton's First (And Second) Law**, which shows that you can write bite sized chapters and still tell a good comprehensive story.

PMC65: Author of **A Thessian Whisper** and **The Shepherdess and the Questing Beast**, which shows that a Paragon can indeed be flawed and tragic, but still heroic.

500 Metric Tonnes of Palladium: Author of **Inglorious Bosh'tets** and **Project Gethinator**, which shows that humor *is* possible within the ME universe without it being silly.

Lastly, and most importantly,

Extra Special Thanks is extended to Loethlin, author of **Pretty Pictures** and many enjoyable ME Kink meme fills. For without her, the story would have turned out significantly different, and in some cases, would have been worse. Bouncing concepts around with her reigned in a few of my more outlandish ideas and metaphorically lassoed me away from taking a running leap off the edge of Perpetual Stupidity screaming 'WWWAAAAAAAGHH!" Treat your beta-readers right, people. Constructive criticism makes you better, don't take it personally!

_**Coming up next (when it's done);**_

**Panacea **(The Origin Story of Nora Shepard)

**Fractured, but Functional: The Nora Shepard Biography by Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani  
**


End file.
